The ministry of health has discovered 148 new cases of coronavirus after testing 483 people.
The new cases registered have taken the total number of COVID-19 cases ever confirmed in the country to 2,685.
The median age of the new cases is 37 years (range: 6 to 104 years), according to the ministry of health.
Two people on treatment for coronavirus at a treatment facility have died while another person’s death is also being related to coronavirus after posthumously testing positive for the disease.
The health ministry in a report on Sunday said three new COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded bringing the total number of deaths to 87.
“While 2 of the new deceased cases were COVID-19 patients at a treatment centre, one tested positive when his sample was collected posthumously,” the ministry said.
It added: “Out of a total of 12 posthumous sample results received, only 1 returned positive for COVID-19. The median age, at death, of the deceased cases (2 males and 1 female) is 89 years (range: 37 to 93 years).”
A man was left to regret according two men a ride after they repaid his kindness by stealing his bag containing his passport.
Ebou Jobe, 26, was returning home in Bijilo from his mother’s place in Fajikunda when two men at Sukuta traffic light begged him for a ride. It was around 9.30 on Saturday when everyone was scrambling to get home before the 10pm curfew.
Ebou explained: “[It’s] yesterday about 9:30. I picked [them] from Sukuta traffic light to give them a lift and dropped them at turn table but they stole my bag.
“I am planning on returning to Canada on the 7th of next month. I have a phone and my passport in my bag. It’s a Gambian passport with active US and Canada visa. Please
“I need help. They begged that I should help them it’s almost 10 and they will not have a vehicle.”
Anyone that comes across Ebou’s passport can contact him on 2357019.
Former President Jammeh is asking that a postmortem be conducted on his brother Ansumana Jammeh who died on Saturday aged 45.
Jammeh, in exile in Equatorial Guinea, has called family members over the passing of The Gambia’s former ambassador to Qatar.
He died at Afrimed clinic at around 11pm Saturday a day after being admitted there over high blood pressure. He died of the illness according to family sources.
His brother former President Jammeh has called family members but couldn’t say much as he was too emotional.
The Fatu Network however understands Mr Jammeh could hardly understand why his brother was vomiting blood and is demanding an investigation into his death.
The family is yet to take a decision on his request.
Former President Yahya Jammeh was crying when he called a family member over the death of his half brother Ansumana Jammeh.
The younger Jammeh died late Saturday aged just 45. He had been admitted at Afrimed after his high blood pressure illness worsened.
Former President Yahya Jammeh, on exile in faraway Equatorial Guinea, spoke with a family member over his half brother’s death, sources have said.
The former leader however could say much as he was crying, the sources said.
It’s the second time in two years Jammeh is losing a close member of his family; his mother Aja Asombi Bojang who he had fled with died in July 2018.
Jammeh and Ansumana are half brothers sharing the same father. Ansumana’s mother Yassin is alive.
By Lamin Njie
Prince Ibrahim has reacted to the death of Ansumana Jammeh saying the former Gambian ambassador to Qatar and brother to former President Yahya Jammeh could not survive ‘wicked’ witchhunt.
Jammeh died on Saturday at Afrimed clinic at 11pm after being admitted to the facility over high blood pressure. Family sources said he died of disease.
“My heart is HEAVY. The forces that united us are intrinsic and greater than the superimposed wickedness that keep us apart. Your gentle heart couldn’t survive their 4yrs of wicked witchunt! You been hurt, humiliated and betrayed. May Allah SWT grant you Jannah firdaus FOREVER IN MY HEART DEAREST FRIEND & BROTHER,” Kiang Batteling royal Prince Ibrahim said on his Facebook alongside a photo of Jammeh and himself on a groundnut farm. The duo were both investigated by the Janneh Commission.
Mr Jammeh’s death comes less than two months after the appellate court denied his stay of execution prayer over his properties.
The Janneh commission had investigated him and agreed that a 2016 high court order against him be implemented; it meant he would lose his properties in Bijilo and Old Yundum. He was also fined over 24 million dalasis.
Last month, the Appeals Court dismissed his application for a stay of execution over his properties which effectively left the properties at the mercy of the state.
Former president Yahya Jammeh’s brother Ansumana Jammeh has died aged 45, family sources have told The Fatu Network.
The younger Jammeh died at Afrimed clinic a short while ago, the sources said.
Jammeh died on Saturday at Afrimed clinic at 11pm after being admitted to the facility over high blood pressure. Family sources said he died of disease.
Opposition APRC in an announcement said burial rites will be held on Sunday 23 August 2020 at 11:00am ‘possibly at Kanilai’.
“Whoever wants to make it to Kanilai to attend the funeral rites can be on standby whilst we await confirmation,” the party said through its deputy spokesperson.
Mr Jammeh’s death comes less than two months after the appellate court denied his stay of execution prayer over his properties.
The Janneh commission had investigated him and agreed that a 2016 high court order against him be implemented; it meant he would lose his properties in Bijilo and Old Yundum. He was also fined over 24 million dalasis.
Last month, the Appeals Court dismissed his application for a stay of execution over his properties which effectively left the properties at the mercy of the state.
By Reuters
A key meeting on Saturday between Mali’s coup leaders and mediators from West Africa’s regional bloc seeking a return to civilian rule ended after just 20 minutes.
Tuesday’s overthrow of Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been condemned abroad, but celebrated by many in a country battling an Islamist insurgency and months of political unrest.
A delegation from the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) earlier arrived in the capital, Bamako, for talks aimed at reversing the overthrow of Keita.
The bloc has taken a hard line on the coup, shutting borders and halting financial flows – a move diplomats said was as much about warning opponents at home as stabilising Mali.
Ahead of a series of meetings with the mutineers and other groups, the head of the delegation, Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan, sounded optimistic.
“I believe at the end of the day we will come up with something that is best for the people and is good for ECOWAS and the international community,” he told journalists.
The most-anticipated meeting was held in the defence ministry, where ECOWAS mediators in face masks sat at a long table opposite junta leader Assimi Goita, who wore a desert camouflage uniform and was flanked by other military officers in berets and fatigues, photos on Twitter showed.
The talks were set to last 90 minutes, according to a provisional ECOWAS schedule, seen by Reuters. But the meeting ended after just 20 minutes, a Reuters reporter said.
President Adama Barrow has said he has turned to President Macky Sall of Senegal for the nation to tap from Senegal’s experience in managing the coronaviru pandemic.
COVID-19 has overwhelmed us as a population; infection numbers are surging beyond our expectations and within a short period of time. Hence I turned to my brother, President Macky Sall, to tap from Senegal’s experience in managing the pandemic,” Barrow said on Saturday while meeting with four top health officials of Senegal, according to a State Hosue statement.
According to the statement, President Adama Barrow said as leaders they are responsible and accountable to the people, thus urged the health professionals to take the lead to provide expert advice that will guide them as politicians to make informed policy decisions on the COVID -19 response mechanisms.
The officials were sent by President Sall and their visit came as a result of the decision of the two Heads of State to facilitate for the Health Experts of the two countries to share experiences as well as for the Senegalese to consult on possible partnership and support to the COVID -19 response in The Gambia, according to State House’s statement Saturday evening.
The statement added: “President Barrow said there are valuable lessons to learn about the Coronavirus situation from each country.
“The Senegalese Director of Health Emergency Operations, Dr. Abdoulaye Busso, who spoke to the press corps after the audience described Gambian laboratories as “very good capacity laboratories” at MRC and National Health Laboratory under Department of Public Health.
“They visited these labs and other treatment centres to exchange ideas and hold discussions with their Banjul counterparts on how to effectively collaborate and coordinate their efforts between Banjul and Dakar.
“President Barrow expressed delight at the quick response from his Senegalese counterpart, President Macky Sall in dispatching such a team without much formalities, which he said, raised his confidence in their brotherhood as two nations but one people. The President described the gesture as representing “true bond of bilateral friendship” never before enjoyed by Banjul and Dakar.
“Furthermore, he said, their friendly relationship also presents an opportunity for the two governments to work together for the eternal benefits of their two peoples.
“Senegal’s COVID-19 Response Coordinator, Prof. Moussa Seydi, the Director of Health Emergency Operations, Dr. Abdoulaye Busso; the General Administrator of Institut Pasteur of Dakar, Dr. Amadou Alpha Sall, are among other high profile experts on the Coronavirus Pandemic led to the State House by the Senegalese Ambassador to The Gambia, Mr. Bachirou Sene.”
A Senegalese paper had earlier this month reported The Gambia has sought for help from Senegal over the coronavirus pandemic, only for government officials to dismiss the report as false.
By Fatou Camara II
Four top Senegalese health experts are visiting the country for three days meant to enhance collaboration and sharing of experience over the fights against Covid-19.
According to notes by the government spokesperson Ebrima Sankareh, the officials are from Pasteur Institute (Director of the Reference Lab for West Africa), Fan Hospital Infectious Disease Unit, Hospital Principal, and Public Health Emergency Centre of Senegal.
The officials’ visit comes amid reports by Senegalese media The Gambia alongside Mauritania have asked Senegal for help over coronavirus pandemic. Government officials have however dismissed the reports as false.
The arson case of nine elders of Perai Tenda being detained at Janjangbureh prison was mentioned at Basse Magistrates Court and then transferred the high court in Basse, according to sources.
The people of Perai in URR have been railing at the continued detention of their elders; this sparked a petitition by the people of the village to the Inspector General of Police demanding the release of the elders.
Youth of Perai Tenda and Waliba Kunda squared off on July 5 over a land which both villages claim ownership of. Many were injured during the violence which saw machetes, knives and sticks deployed. The elders were arrested and detained shortly after.
Sources have now told The Fatu Network the case of the elders was first mentioned at the Magistrates Court in Basse where it was transferred to the high court there for trial.
The country’s top courts are however on vacation but sources say an attorney for the suspects have filed a bail application and hearing for bail could take place as early as next week.
Having been inundated by demands from friends to sound my opinion in the current political situation in Mali, I decided to abort my initial intention of waiting for the next African Spring in Ivory Coast or perhaps the next in Guinea Conakry before finally echoing my next prediction. Oh yes, my view about the situation in Mali is not about playing Monday morning quarterback to confuse clueless followers or readers by merely dissecting what should have, could have or would have but about telling my readers that ‘I told you so that the Malians will do it’ a day before the people came out to change their government with the help of the army. Realistically, that’s what all good armies must do under such circumstances.
Whereas I used to wholeheartedly condemn military coups because of their recurrent upshot of the leaders sooner or later betraying the expectations or aspirations of the masses that initially supported them, I no longer subscribe to such generalizations of military intervention in so-called “democratically elected governments”. I am now convinced that coups or better put, military interventions in elected governments that betray the aspirations of the electorate and bend on corrupting their national institutions and constitutions to remain and justify their indefinite clinging to power deserve to be ousted especially when the masses can no longer tolerate them. Otherwise, radical elements could resort to exploiting such impasses for extreme measures aimed at destabilizing the nations just for the heck of spoiling things for everybody. Coups, as far as I am concern now, will remain a part of African political change until we have honest political leaders representing the interest of the people in general and not that of a greedy few functioning under the dictates of foreign masters.
I strongly believe that if the Mali military had remained indifferent to the demands of the overwhelming majority of the population, the threat of the “Jihadists in the North” to disrupt the society, the main excuse France deploying over 4000 of their troops in the country, could have on the same logic succeeded. Because, after all, regardless of the massive presence of foreign troops including over 15,000 UN peacekeepers and the French Foreign legion forces, France’s most elite combatants, the Malian soldiers do most of the dirty fighting against the “Jihadists” under the most appalling working conditions. They have frequently complained about being underpaid, under-equipped and marginalized while the foreign troops enjoy every imaginable luxury with minimal input in the national crisis. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Essentially, if the Mali Army had to stop fighting today the “Jihadists” will most likely disrupt the political, economic and social stability of the country and perhaps turn the nation into another Libya where foreign powers will only sponsor mercenaries and local militias to protect their investments of exploiting the natural resources of the country.
What most people don’t understand about the economic importance of land-lock Mali to the West in general or to France in particular is that the country has the fourth largest gold deposits in Africa with European investors, bankers and even politicians investing heavily in stocks from various mining companies strewn all over the country with guaranteed safety and protection from France.
In the wake of the ongoing crisis, only Barrick Gold (ABX. To), the biggest miners report minimal effect on the value of their shares in the world market with only 2.7% drop; but to name few more, Resolute Mining, (BTO.To) went down 11.7%, Hummingbird 9.4%, B2 Gold fell 8.8% and Cora Gold 9.3%.
In 2019 alone, gold output from Mali rose to 71.1 tonnes, translating into government revenue in excess of $700,000,000.00.
All these companies go through France to secure mining rights in Mali like all foreign investors do in Francophone African nations still under the Neo-Colonial occupation of the French. Hence contrary to the conventional wisdom that France’s inclination to willing and indefinitely deploy the best of their troops in large numbers with all the expensive logistical support in Francophone African nations is about preventing Islamist or Jihadist expansionism or just being nice to their former colonies, the indisputable reality is about protecting their economic interest, nothing more and nothing less.
Apparently, the French will maintain control of these Neo-Colonial nations because their economic lives depend on them.
I wonder how the Malians are going to wriggle out of it and vote a president insulated to finally break the umbilical cord which will eventually happen in order for these sorry countries to emerge from their self-inflicted poverty and misery, but to reach that promised land they must be prepared for a tough and deadly uphill struggle.
Leaders who tried it in the past had their regimes changed or had paid dearly with their lives. Captain Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso, is still a typical example of a Francophone Neo-Colonial West African leader who in 1987 tried to cut the French colonial “umbilical cord” and paid his life and that of his government for attempting.
In one of his attempts to square with France over how the natural resources of Ivory Coast were unfairly exploited by France at the detriment of the Ivorian economy, former President Laurent Gbagbo explained how since colonial days they had in place an arrangement where France will always enjoy 85% of their natural resources while the Ivorians only settled for 15%.
It is an arrangement with most former French colonies in Africa excluding the $500 billion dollars they must deposit annually to France’s central bank for safekeeping.
Anyway according to President Gbagbo, his downfall emanated from the French inciting the Muslims in Ivory Coast and dragged their country into politics of religion when he insisted on a 50-50 share of their resources with them, a novel arrangement that would have brought about huge economic growth to his country and of course a dent in the French economy.
What an irony! In Ivory Coast, the French supported the Muslims who throughout the history of French colonialism were marginalized because the Christians all the time played along with the colonial agenda but when Christian Gbagbo made an attempt to liberate his people from them they embraced a Muslim-Puppet Outtarra, armed and supported his rebel militia and changed the regime to maintain the Neo-Colonial status quo.
I bet the French would have eagerly supported an Islamic state in Mali, if the Islamists or Jihadists in Mali were to guarantee them the liberty to continuously control Mali’s gold and other natural resources.
Just take a good look at what is happening in Libya and tell me what exactly these foreign powers believe in.
It might however be because of the horrible and unforeseen effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or of just the right time at last for the African Spring coming out of the global contemporaneous enlightenment, but it looks like the days of African puppeteering to France and the institutional and constitutional corruption by their chosen politicians is coming to an end, an unstoppable phenomenon to finally liberated Africa, economically.
The exploitation that started since the 1885 balkanization of the continent at the infamous Berlin Conference has to end before Africa can catchup with the rest of the world.
In short, I therefore support the military interventions in Mali, a country that was heading to unpredictable chaos and possible anarchy with no reasonable solution in sight but only amateur puppets peddling unacceptable resolutions; nonetheless, I also hope that the soldiers listen to reasoning and work towards realizing the aspiration of the Malian people and not to be corrupted by any foreign or domestic forces.
The international threat of sanctions or blockade is meaningless as long as the European mining companies are there protecting their stocks in the world market. If the Malian economy tanks, some prominent European investors and banks will go bankrupt; this is beyond our dumb ECOWAS leaders threatening to use military force. The invasion of Mali to reinstate former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will doubtlessly end most regimes in the subregion. They know that but are just bluffing out of fear of facing the same predicament because of the same color and shape of feathers they wear like Keita’s. They are also bothered by their ineptitude in failing to fulfill France’s expectations in this particular case.
Long live the “African Spring”.
SAMSUDEEN SARR
BANJUL, THE GAMBIA
The AlaeIdin family on Saturday met with some women who are part of a group of 54 Gambian women living in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
The Alaeldin family, owners of Alaeldin restaurant, made a trip that last for nearly one hour and thirty minutes. They were able to Mariama Ceesay and Fatou Seine.
The Alaeldin family are Gambians who are currently in Lebanon.
The Fatu Network has gathered 35 of the women are scheduled to return to The Gambia after the ministry of foreign affairs issued them emergency passports.
The Alaeldin family’s visit to the girls comes two days after the girls staged a protest in front of the Gambian consulate in Beirut to demand assistance to return home.
They have been accused of vandalising the consulate but the girls have denied the allegations.
Three new COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded bringing the total number of deaths to 84, the ministry of health said on Friday.
According to the ministry, samples from all three deceased cases (3 males and 1 female) were collected posthumously.
“Out of the 4 posthumous sample results received, 3 returned positive and 1 tested negative for COVID-19. the median age, at death, of the deceased cases is 52 years (range: 20 to 52 years),” the ministry said.
It comes as the ministry said 36 new cases registered, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases ever confirmed in the country to 2,437.
The Inspector General of Police Alhagi Mamour Jobe and DIGP Abdoulie Sanyang on Friday had the honour and pleasure of decorating Sergeant Malang Camara of New Yundum Traffic Post to the rank of Sub Inspector, according to the police.
Police said in a statement on Poliso Magazine Facebook page: “The decoration which was held at the IGP’s office came following numerous recommendations from the public particularly the people of New Yundum about the selfless, professional and diligent service rendered in the traffic by Officer Camara.
“In recognition to such dedication to service, the people of New Yundum were motivated to spearhead a community oriented initiative to construct a Traffic Police Post to enhance the work of the Police. The newly built Police Post was inaugurated yesterday.
“Sergeant Lamin Barrow of Mobile Traffic was also promoted to Sub Inspector.
“The IGP congratulated them for their hard work and dedication to service.”
By Reuters
The junta that overthrew Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Tuesday and promised to lead the country to elections has provided little information about its membership.
The five members of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) who appeared on television early on Wednesday morning to confirm the takeover are all colonels.
“They all have strong field credentials,” said Marc-Andre Boisvert,” an independent researcher on the Malian security forces. He said there could also be generals involved in the junta who have not yet appeared in public.
Following are details about the quintet, drawn from the junta’s public comments, other open sources and people who follow the military.
Colonel Assimi Goita:
Goita presented himself on Wednesday as the junta’s leader.
According to an official biography distributed the following day, he is 37-years-old and the son of an army officer.
Goita served in several posts in northern Mali, where jihadists linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State are active, before becoming a commander of the Autonomous Special Forces Battalion (BAFS) in 2018, the biography says.
He has received training in Germany, the United States and Gabon, it says.
A former U.S. army officer posted a photo on a blog post last year showing himself with Goita at the Flintlock exercises that the U.S. military runs annually in West Africa to train regional armies.
The officer, Andy Duhon, wrote of Goita: “(He is) a key partner and friend that I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside since 2016. Together, we fought violent extremism in Mali.”
Colonel Modibo Kone:
Kone served as head of the National Guard in central Mali near the border with Burkina Faso, an epicentre of jihadist and inter-ethnic violence, according to a source who follows the military and has met Kone.
A post last year on the Malian army’s Twitter account includes a photo of Kone receiving a visit by the defence minister while in charge of a command centre in central Mali.
The source said Kone was opposed to the implicit sub-contracting of security operations by the army to ethnic Dogon militiamen, who have battled the jihadists but also been accused of massacring Fulani herders.
National Guard forces have also been accused of committing atrocities against civilians in the area – charges the government had promised to investigate.
Colonel Ismael Wague:
Wague, the junta’s spokesman, read the statement on national television on Wednesday morning that confirmed the military’s takeover.
He has been based in Sevare in central Mali, according to the source who follows the military.
Colonel Malick Diaw:
Diaw is the deputy commander of the Kati base on the outskirts of Bamako, where the mutiny began on Tuesday, Boisvert said.
Ten people have been asked by the magistrates court in Basse to each pay D5,000 or do serve time in jail.
According to police on Friday, they were dragged to court for violating the curfew.
They were convicted and sentenced to a fine of D5000.00 each in default to serve 1year imprisonment.
Ecowas leaders have called for the immediate activation of the region’s standby force following an emergency summit on Thursday.
Ecowas leaders including President Adama Barrow on Thursday condemned the threats and pressure by military putschists on President Ibrahim Boubacarr Keita to “force him to resign”.
They also said they are opposed to any form of legitimacy for the military putschists and demanded the immediate restoration of constitutional order.
In their joint statement signed by Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou who is also the chairman of the Ecowas authority of heads of state and government, the leaders while referring to Mr Keita as ‘president’ called for the ‘immediate’ reinstatement of President Ibrahim Boubacarr Keita – but also called for the ‘immediate’ activation of the Ecowas standby force.
The people of Perai Tenda have written to the Inspector General of Police Mamour Jobe demanding the release of nine elders of the village who are being kept at Janjanbureh prison over an incident last month.
Youth of Perai Tenda and Waliba Kunda squared off on July 5 over a land which both villages claim ownership of. Many were injured during the violence which saw machetes, knives and sticks deployed.
A number of people have been arrested and detained over the violence, most of them from Perai Tenda.
“We write to express our deepest sorrow and concerns about the illegal and unlawful detention of the innocent elders of our village, Perai Tenda Community,” the villagers in a petition to the IGP on 19 August and shared with The Fatu Network began.
They added: “Nine (9) innocent elders of our village were arrested allegedly on the unlawful orders of Mr. Ousman Sonko [sic], the Director of State Intelligence Service (SIS) and taken to McCarthy/Janjanbureh prisons prior to Tobaski. It has been nearly two months now since they were detained without any court trails after having demanded a sum of D40,000.00 unlawfully from us for a bail, they remained under unlawful detention and some of them are suffering from various health problems.
“The unlawful orders came after a land dispute between Perai Tenda Village and the neighboring Village Waliba Kunda Village wherein youth groups from both sides pelted stones at each other injuring several people from both villages. It must be noted that the fight was ignited by Waliba Kunda Village. Our community has been farming those plots of land for at least 400 years and no one has ever claimed ownership over them. We have successfully lived with all our neighbors in absolute peace and prosperity irrespective of their tribe or political affiliation since time immemorial including Waliba Kunda.
“The community of Waliba Kunda has benefitted from numerous benefits from Perai Tenda; these benefits include education for their children, market for food, fishing without any charges or license, as well as free gracing for their cattle, until recently when they illegally claimed ownership over our lands which have been our sole source of income over the years. As we write this letter with deep pain and sorrow, we would urge your government to take swift possible measures and release our innocent elders who have absolutely nothing to do with the problem, on the contrary some of them were not even present at the village on the day of the problem, whiles some of them have worked so hard calling for peace from both sides.
“We are confident that your government will launch an independent investigation into the matter and defend the truth over falsehood. We demand the swift release of our innocent elders whose families are suffering enormous lose with the absence of their fathers, husbands, uncles and loved ones. We have made very great sacrifices over the years in our endeavour to see a change of unjust government, thus this is the last act we could have ever imagine from this new government. We would like to assure you of our total support, loyalty and commitment in enhancing the development goals of your government. We pray for ‘Justice to guide our actions’ and for the well-being of our community, The Gambia.
“As our Inspector General of Police, we call for your swift action before the situation worsens. Thank you.”
Police spokesman Superintendent Lamin Njie told The Standard the matter has been forwarded to the courts and the accused persons were remanded on the orders of the court.
“So as you can see, the matter is currently under litigation,” Supt Njie told The Standard.
By Reuters
The port of Senegal’s capital Dakar on Thursday said it had requested the removal of around 2,700 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate stored in its complex – the same volume of the chemical that caused Beirut’s devastating port blast this month.
The unidentified owner of the stockpile has found a warehouse to store the industrial chemical outside the city, according to the general directorate of the port, which sits next to Dakar’s densely populated downtown.
“He is currently working with the environment ministry to obtain approval to urgently remove this cargo,” it said in a statement that did not say how long the port had stored the goods destined for Mali.
The port strictly adheres to international rules for the management and storage of dangerous materials, it said.
Beirut’s port had held 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate for six years without safety measures, before they detonated on Aug. 4, killing more than 150 people, injuring thousands and leaving about a quarter of a million people homeless.
“The dramatic situation that Beirut has just experienced” prompted the High Commander of Dakar’s port to take journalists on a tour of the port’s facilities to show that security measures are up to standard, the statement said.
The Beirut blast should be a wake-up call for countries on the dangers of ammonium nitrate, experts say. Commonly used in fertilisers and as an industrial explosive, it is considered relatively safe if handled properly, but has caused some of the world’s deadliest industrial accidents.
