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Gambia: Farafenni Barracks Attack, Back in Court

Lt Col Biran Saine, Chief of staff of the Gambia National Guard yesterday testified before Justice Monageng of the Banjul High court in a treason trial in connection with the Farafenni attack, against one Abdoulie Sonko.

Testifying, Lt. Col Saine said in November 1996 he was stationed at Farafenni military barracks as the commanding officer of the 2nd infantry battalion, the Gambia National Army. He said on 8th November 1996 at around 3a.m he was at the Faraffenni Barracks. He said while there he was sleeping when he heard a gun shot. He said he woke up and heard automatic firing and knew something was happening. He said he attempted to call his commander, but the phone was dead. He said he went to the window to observe what was going on in the guardroom, but there was too much noise from the guardroom. He said he saw a ‘gele gele’ vehicle parked close to the guardroom. He said he also saw a taxi entering the camp, but it did not spend any time and left. He said he also heard a noise close to where his official vehicle was parked, and as he observed he came face to face with an unusual person who was not a member of the (GAF) holding an AK 47 rifle and wearing a jacket looking like a rank of a L/CPL officer, putting on a military cap and ‘jujus’ tied on his head, adding that the said person shouted “somebody is here, come out.” He said he came out of the house; the attacker demanded the key of the vehicle which he handed over to him.

He said he was escorted by the one with the AK 47 rifle to the guard post, while the other attacker drove the vehicle GNA 60 to the armoury. He said at the armoury, one of the camp caretakers, Lamin Keita, was with one of the attackers inside the armoury and taking the guns and ammunition into the gele gele vehicle. He said from time to time the attackers would fire around the ATC area. He said two of the soldiers who were taken hostage were escorted by the rebels to the guardroom, and told to lie down on the ground. He said the second caretaker, Lamin Ceesay, was also escorted to the armoury where he was told to join Keita in loading guns into the gele gele and GNA 60 vehicle. He said he saw four dead bodies and one injured person.

Further testifying, Lt Col Biran Saine said one bearded man told him that they were there to get Yahya, Touray, Singhateh and Bajo, and that they have all their men positioned all over the camp. He said the attackers also broke into the master store and took some uniforms to wear. He said after finishing loading whatever was in the armoury, the attacker spoke in Mandinka and Arabic. He said they also took communication radio and telephone sets. He said the bearded man also told him that they were with Samba Kukoi Sanyang at a Liberian base, but had broken away from him. He added that the bearded man told him that they were with Charles Taylor on ‘Operation Octopus’ in Liberia. He said he, other soldiers, the driver of the gele gele and his apprentice were taken hostage. He said the attackers headed to Bao Bolong around Illiassa where they met up with military re-enforcement from Banjul and during an exchange of fire the attackers fled into the bush, and they the hostages eventually escaped. He said when he went back to Farafenni barracks, as they were offloading the guns taken by the rebels, they found a folder and when the folder was opened, the plan of the attack of the camp and coup was discovered. He said some of the attackers were captured by the military patrol team, and handed over to the NIA.