Gambia : Government Thwarts Coup Attempt

Gambian authorities say they have foiled a military coup attempt and arrested four soldiers plotting to overthrow President Adama Barrow’s administration. The announcement was made on Wednesday, December 22, 2022, by the country’s state media. A statement issued by the authorities states that, “Based on intelligence reports that some soldiers of the Gambian army were plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government of President Adama Barrow, the armed forces in a swift military operation conducted arrests four soldiers linked to the alleged coup plot. For now, the situation is under total control,” the government reiterated.   
Though there has not been an immediate independent confirmation of the purported plot from other sources, coup attempts are not uncommon in The Gambia, a country of 2.5 million people almost entirely surrounded by Senegal, which is still reeling from more than two decades under former President Yahya Jammeh, marked by authoritarianism and alleged abuses. The army is in pursuit of three other alleged accomplices and investigations are continuing. There were no details on whether the coup attempt was linked to the previous government.
Jammeh himself seized power in a coup in 1994 and foiled several attempts to...