By Sainabou Sambou
Hon. Halifa Sallah has said soldiers of the sub regional military mission in Gambia [ECOMIG] should not be an instrument of intervention but rather as an instrument of sodality.
He made the statement on Thursday 7th April 2022 at a press conference held at his party’s [PDOIS] bureau in Serekunda. He was responding to, among other things, the statement made by President Barrow calling on PDOIS strongman Sedia Jatta to retire.
He said if ECOMIG acts as an instrument of intervention, there will be dismantling of the security apparatus.
Hon. Sallah noted that he had been emphasizing that there is a security crisis at the border and that two Senegalese soldiers died in Casamance, but they were based in the Gambia.
The veteran politician said residents of Foni Districts have been leaving their villages because of the instability in that part of the country that shares boundary with the southern Senegalese region of Casamance where there have been decades of clashes between the Senegalese government and separatists’ groups.
“This current government has no sense of history. We have been here for many years, and we know many things that the young people who are newcomers don’t know. Those people were leaving their villages because they were threatened. The president of the Republic should have been more concerned about it,” he said.
Hon. Sallah noted that there are more important things to talk about than to say Sedia Jatta should retire, saying that President Barrow should not belittle them because they are the “powerhouse” in this country.
