Gambian soldiers are hunting for political opponents of President Yahya Jammeh who are suspected to have staged the attempted coup on Tuesday.
The soldiers who are considered loyal to President Jammeh are reportedly rounding up political opponents.
[contextly_sidebar id=”FR61Y6Hyz8ydDvd4YfvQiBbaRNqoqqpi”]In the absence of the Gambian President on Tuesday, heavy gunfire was heard near the country’s presidential palace in Banjul.
An unnamed government official was quoted as saying, “they wanted to overthrow the regime.”
A day after the attempted coup, President Jammeh returned to Banjul and has alleged that some rebels based in the US, Germany and the UK are responsible for the attack but the US has denied any involvement in the attempted coup.
The President is quoted as saying, “The Gambian armed forces are very loyal as far as we are concerned – there isn’t any single participation of the armed forces except nullifying the attack,” he said in a television interview on Wednesday night.
“So this cannot be called a military coup – this was an attack by a terrorist group backed by some powers that I would not name.”
President Jammeh seized power 20 years ago through a coup and has been criticized for his repressive leadership style.
By: citifmonline.com/Ghana