(JollofNews) – A resident of Foni who was injured in Friday’s clash in Kanilai with officers of the Senegal led military intervention force in the Gambia has died of his injuries, says reports from Banjul.
The protester who is identified by locals as Haruna Jatta, is reported to have died early Saturday morning in hospital from gunshot wounds.
He was among thousands of Foni residents who gathered in former President Yahya Jammeh’s native village, Kanilai, some 119km from Banjul, and displayed banners calling for the immediate withdrawal of ECOMIG soldiers in the area.
The demonstrators were met by ECOMIG soldiers guarding Mr Jammeh’s residence who discharged live ammunition injuring two people. Other reports said six people were injured.
The Government of the Gambia is yet to make a public comment on the protest. But the Foni residents has accused the government of militarising the region with heavily armed soldiers who are intimidating them.
“This was a peaceful demonstration by all the natives of Foni and we want to make it clear to the government that we want the immediate withdrawal of heavily armed Senegalese soldiers in our villages,” one demonstrator told JollofNews.
“We are all ready to die to put an end to this militarisation of Foni. The entire Foni is crawling with heavily armed soldiers who are intimidating residents. We didn’t protest against the deployment of soldiers here during the previous regime because President Jammeh used to visit the area regularly. But now that he is no longer president and is not even in the country, we want to see an end to the militarisation of Foni.
“Why is Foni being singled out? Are we the only part of the Gambia that supported President Jammeh or benefitted from his regime? Foni is and will always be part of the Gambia. Why are we being treated differently? If the government is not singling Foni out then how come we don’t have heavy ECOMIG presence in Banjul, Basse, Serrekunda, Farafenni, Soma and other parts of the country?”
Gambia: Foni Protester Died Of Gunshot Wound
Jollof Media Network, 03.06.2017
(JollofNews) – A resident of Foni who was shot in Kanilai on Friday by officers of the Senegal led military intervention force in the Gambia had died of gunshot wounds, a medical report has comfirmed.
Haruna Jatta, 54, of Kanilai, was among thousands of Foni residents who peacefully gathered in former President Yahya Jammeh’s native village, Kanilai, some 119km from Banjul, to protest against the heavy military presence in their community.
The protesters were confronted by Senegalese soldiers guarding the former president’s residence, who open fired on them and wounding six people.
Two bullets hit Jatta on the abdomen causing serious internal bleeding. He was taken by family members to the Bwiam Hospital but later transferred to the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, Banjul. He later went into hypovolemic shock and took his last breath at 09:15.
Mr Jatta is the first Gambian to be killed by security officers since President Adama Barrow assumed power in January.
In response to the incident, Gambia’s Interior minister Mai Ahmad Fatty has cut short his trip to Monrovia, Liberia, where he represented the country at the Ecowas security ministerial meetings.
Mr Fatty is expected to make a televise address to the nation later tonight.
Meanwhile there are reports that security officers have Saturday arrested and detained a number of residents from Bwiam and Kanilai for their role in the protest.