The whole country was shocked when official reports confirmed that the Senegal-led ECOWAS forces in the country have exchanged fire with members of the Gambia Armed Forces in Kanilai.
The clash resulted in three GAF soldiers sustaining injuries.
Even though both the interior ministry and the Gambia Armed Forces said the unfortunate incident was just a minor misunderstanding, the timing of the rift is worrying.
Just last month, there were reports of residents of the former president’s home denied forensic experts entry into the village which preceded a tense post election atmosphere in the Fonis.
The interior ministry amicably solved that problem but that part of the country is still not settled in the aftermath of Jammeh’s shock election defeat.
It is important that the CDS works together with the ECOMIG forces in the country to diffuse any emerging tension between the two forces.
There cannot be peace in the country if the forces pull trigger on each other just because there was a small rift in the camps.
The Gambia is going through an unusual transformation and everyone must be included in charting a path for building a strong democracy and social cohesion in the country.
The Standard calls on the Interior ministry, the CDS and the leader of the ECOMIC forces in the country to investigate to determine the actual cause of the misunderstanding that led to the injuries of three Gambian soldiers.
