Reports had it yesterday – both in the print and social media – that there was a shooting involving the ECOMIG Forces at Sibanor. The reports said that there was a driver who was transporting some timber which the soldiers tried to prevent resulting in his shooting.
However, it was said in some quarters that the soldiers who opened fire on this man were not ECOMIG soldiers though they are part of a contingent of the Senegalese Army tasked with patrolling the area to prevent drivers from transporting timber into Senegal.
Many of the residents believe that these soldiers are actually part of the ECOMIG battalion who have crossed the line from peacekeepers to something else. Whether that is true or not cannot be easily confirmed.
However, it would have helped if the Government of the Gambia were to inform the general public about where exactly are these ECOMIG troops stationed. This will help people know whether these men in uniform are ECOMIG or not.
Another piece of information that should be made available to the public is whether or not the Government of The Gambia and that of Senegal are working together on the timber control problem and what that agreement entails.
This would help clarify many things and the Gambia National Army would not have to come and give explanations every now and then.
