Major Lamin Sanyang, the  Spokesperson of the Gambia Armed Forces, explained the confrontation recently making rounds on social media that occurred between Gambian and Senegalese soldiers stationed in Farafenni. Sanyang said the standoff was exaggerated.

On Saturday, reports surfaced on social media that a clash emanated after Gambia soldiers halted Senegalese gendarmerie officers who were accompanying a military ambulance carrying a patient to Senegal for medical attention.

However, the PRO said the incident was just a matter of miscommunication and added that the issue was immediately resolved by the Battalion Commander by ordering the gendarmerie officers to return to Kanfenda which they obliged. He confirmed the battalion commander assigned some of his men to escort the ambulance to the border village of Kerr Ayib.

“The issue is that the GAF headquarters  hadn’t received communication that these men were coming and it was late in the night. In normal circumstances, they send us prior notice of the movement of their troops. But the moment they told us this was a patient on board, the Battalion Commander intervened and it was maturely handled,” he said.

He further stated that The Gambia Armed Forces will be the last institution to cause commotion between the two sister countries. He also cautioned people to desist from blowing issues out of proportion as it is capable of igniting fear in people. “Sometimes people tend to blow these things out of proportion and we have to be very careful because of the relation that the two countries share,” he concluded.

By: Fatoumatta Samateh