The Gambia’s government on Wednesday said it had thwarted a coup attempt the previous day and arrested four soldiers.
There was no immediate confirmation of the purported plot from other sources and the capital Banjul was calm.
“Based on intelligence reports that some soldiers of the Gambian army were plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government of President Adama Barrow, the (armed forces) in a swift military operation… yesterday arrested four soldiers linked to this alleged coup plot,” the government said in a statement.
“The apprehended soldiers are currently helping the military police with their investigations. Meanwhile, the army is in pursuit of three more alleged accomplices.”
Gambian police said in a separate statement that they had questioned Momodou Sabally, a former minister of presidential affairs under ex-leader Yahya Jammeh, after the release of a video suggesting the president would be overthrown before the next local elections.
Scattered witness accounts reported soldier movements around the presidential headquarters in the centre of the city on Tuesday evening, and rumours circulated during the night of a possible coup.
But people interviewed said they had seen no disturbance.
Sulayman Njie, 25, a youth advocate and entrepreneur, said he had been attending a national youth conference in Banjul until 4:00 am.
“We did not see anything unusual,” he said.
Momodou Lamin Bah, the lawmaker for Banjul North, said he had also been attending events at the conference, but witnessed nothing out of the ordinary.
