Breaking News coming out of Banjul in the small West African state of the Gambia has it that the political protest that began a couple of days ago by few political dissidents demanding electoral reforms has escalated into serious violence by security forces. Gainako has confirmed that at least one of the leaders of the protest an executive member of the United Democratic Party was tortured to death and four other protesters are reportedly in Coma.
The leader of the main opposition party Ousainou Darboe and his executive reportedly hit the streets this morning to protest about the arrest and torture of the protesters. Darboe and his party militants gathered at his compound to convene a press conference when they were interrupted by armed security focus and were forcefully arrested. Unconfirmed reports from the UDP has it that some of the members who have been arrested this morning have also been tortured and are in coma.
Tension has been very high and pockets of citizens are gathering various places across the country. Communication in and out of the country has be sporadic and there are heavily armed security forces all over the place arresting and beating people. As we go to press the leader of the United Democratic party and members of his party are detained at unknown places. It is to be noted that torture of detainees is a culture in the Jammeh regime and it is often perpetuated by senior security officers. As a result Solo Sandeng died of torture wounds and several others are reportedly in coma.
The Gambian Diaspora activists are hitting the airwaves calling for solidarity and Gambians on the ground to stand with their fellow citizens. Opposition leaders from the NRP and PPP were earlier on the airwaves to answer questions to from the activists. Both leaders said they are consulting and would likely convene a meeting to strategize on how to approach the crisis. Both leaders were called upon to find out where the leader of the UDP is detained and to challenge station officers to ensure their safety and security. “We must ensure the safety of our leaders are protected” added an activist.
In the meantime, International rights groups have been notified of the political unrest and Amnesty International has issue a press conference on the torture and killings of Gambians. BBC and other international press networks are also picking up on the story in the Gambia. The situation in the Gambia is very dire as the country is ruled by a dictator who instructs his security personnel to torture and kill citizens. Several Gambian citizens have been detained and tortured and many died in the hands of security. Senegalese media has also picked up on the crisis and the leader of the GMC Mai Fatty who is resident in Senegal convened a press conference and called on the Gambian president to step down as he has violated the constitution of the country by ordering his security to torture and kill citizens.
It is still unknown whether the President Jammeh has returned to the country or not. Earlier reports this morning indicated that he was flying out of Turkey where he was attending an Islamic conference summit. The president two months ago declared the country as an Islamic State which created a lot of fear and tension in the country. The situation remains tense and the whereabouts of the detainees is still unknown.