Gambian soldiers stationed in Kanilai, had a go at the ECOMIG forces, as they refused to allow the foreign troops to have access to former dictator Yahya Jammeh’s villa, the Freedom Newspaper can reveal. The ECOMIG forces then open fire at the resisting soldiers, thereby wounding two of them. Both soldiers were shot in the leg, and have been hospitalized at the Bwiam hospital. The two soldiers suffered broken legs during the shootout. The incident happened in the early hours of Thursday morning. Kanilai, is a crime scene at this hour.
Narrating the circumstances surrounding the incident, a military source, said the ECOMIG forces stationed in Bwiam, wanted to enter Kanilai, and were denied access by the soldiers on duty. A push and pull later ensued between the foreign troops and the Gambian military. Things escalated and the ECOMIG forces fired warning shots at at the soldiers. The Gambian soldiers responded with a firing. Hence, pandemonium engulfed the village.
Meanwhile, the villagers of Kanilai, have reinforced the guards on duty. They have stormed the local Fire Service post in the village threatening to kill the officer in charge of the station.
“The soldiers have vowed to kill the fire service boss in Kanilai. They have accused him of leaking information to the ECOMIG forces. There is chaos in Kanilai. The villagers have joined the soldiers in the ongoing fighting to repel the ECOMIG forces,” said our source.
Earlier on, the Freedom Newspaper received a phone call from Banjul, from a concerned citizen, who informed this medium about the fighting taking place in Kanilai. The caller asked our Editor to investigate the story, because according to him, Kanilai, has fallen in the hands of soldiers, who are having a go at the ECOMIG Forces.
Kanilai, remains a crime scene at this hour. The ECOMIG forces are yet to take full control of the village.
Calm Returns To Kanilai; Injured Soldiers Pictured!
Freedom Newspaper, 20.04.2017
Calm has returned to Kanilai, following Thursday gruesome gunfire between some personnel of the Gambia Armed Forces stationed in the village and the ECOMIG forces, leaving two Gambian soldiers critically injured, the Freedom Newspaper can report. This followed the deployment of a security task force headed by General Yankuba Drammeh, to investigate what occasioned the incident in Kanilai.
INJURED GAMBIAN SOLDIER
Pictures of the injured soldiers have started surfacing. The Freedom Newspaper was contacted by a source in Banjul, who provided the pictures to this medium. As rightly reported earlier, the injured soldiers suffered gunshot wounds in the leg. As evident on these published pictures, there was a shootout in Kanilai.
ANOTHER INJURED SOLDIER
Kanilai, is now becoming a no-go area for the ECOMIG forces. Local villagers reinforced the soldiers on the ground as soon as the ECOMIG forces open fire at the guards stationed at Jammeh’s villa.
The government of the Gambia, is yet to issue an official statement to shed light about what transpired in Kanilai on Thursday, morning.