Members of the Gambia Armed Forces have embarked on a training session to broaden the intellectual competence of army officers on contemporary security, social, political and economic issues of society at the Joint Officers’ Mess in Kotu.

The Chief of Defense Staff, Lieutenant General Masanneh Kinteh in his opening statement said that the session is meant to build capacity of troops to ensure that they effectively and efficiently perform their constitutional mandate and other assigned roles in support of national defense policy objectives which is a given top priority.

“Training is an essential ingredient and an indispensable tool in our drive to re-professionalize the Armed Forces,” Lt. General Masanneh Kinteh said.

Speaking at the opening, the Minister of Women’s Affairs and Overseer of the Office of the Vice President, Aja Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang commended the Armed Forces for demonstrating a high sense of responsibility during the political impasse and also recently disassociating itself from the July 22nd Coup, adding that their cooperation with ECOMIG Forces is a clear demonstration of their appreciation for new Gambia which will bring big changes in their welfare.

Mrs. Jallow Tambajang, further stated that the government values its citizens in uniform and very much clear with the belief that the future and lasting security of our beloved country lies in the hands of no other forces than her own sons and daughters.

“The military profession is a very noble profession, even God has counted them amongst the type of people whose eyes will not be burnt in the hereafter,” Mrs. Jallow Tambajang asserted.

“If you execute your constitutional duties honestly within your limits, you will not only reap the fruit of your labour in this world but also in heaven,” she added.

The Women Affairs Minister and Overseer of the Office of the Vice President urged the men and women in uniform who are in command position and in the various corps of the military ‘Think Tank’ to appreciate their roles in democracy.

Meanwhile, the ceremony was attended by the military high command, Inspector General of Police and SIS Director General among others.

Credible sources have informed The Fatu Network that Momodou Badjie former managing director of The Gambia National Petroleum Corporation has been deployed to the Asset Management and Recovery Corporation (AMRC) as financial director with immediate effect. Mr. Badjie is replaced by Mambury Njie whose appointment takes effective today, August 7, 2017.

Mambury Njie last served as finance minister during the Jammeh administration, he was later arrested and detained at the former national intelligence agency for a few months before he fled the country.

Mambury Njie has been appointed new managing director of the Gambia National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) with immediate effect, according to official sources.

Mr Njie served in the former regime in various posts such as: permanent secretary of the Office of the President; secretary general and head of the civil service; minister of planning and industrial development; minister of finance and economic affairs overseeing the Ministry of Energy; minister of foreign affairs; minister of higher education; chairman of Skye Bank Gambia; Gambian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines and Taiwan; ambassador-at-large and advisor on economic and energy.

Mr Njie was removed from the previous government for opposing the execution of nine inmates in August 2012 by former President Yahya Jammeh.

Source: Point Newspaper

Arguably, the long-suffering Gambia football fans are the most unfairly treated group of loyal supporters one is likely to encounter anywhere in Africa. Despite decades of investment and passionate following putting up time & money as the Scorpions fan-base around the world – Gambians have been let down by the very people put in charge to run football affairs in the country. Without a doubt, football is the country’s favourite pass time, our national sport, yet riddled with failures on the international stage. To compound frustrations and anger of a fan-base hungry for success – we’ve tried to measure the sporting facilities Kabba Bajo is running his mouth all over of. Worryingly, our reviews found the facilities to be of poor-quality and poorly-financed projects with regards to all the millions spent.

Just the other day, Bajo was quoted by the Press saying ‘’… well government never put much into football, we had to depend on ourselves’’. Excuse me, but how do you think FIFA subventions amounting to millions of dalasi every single year came by? Plus the fact that GFF submit projects for funding on an entirely separate pot of cash from the World Football body. With extra resources from African Football bodies, explain to the Gambian people why the heck you expect more money from tax payers to fund your failures. Looking at the millions pouring in from FIFA, CAF and other bodies, how difficult can it be to build quality stadiums around the country, Football Academies of excellence in every Governorship, help rebuild school playgrounds as factories of talent? In recent weeks, it has come to notice that the level of mismanagement and waste undergone at this abysmal failure known as Gambia Football Federation may be impossible to quantify, or recover. But that should not stop the Ministry of Sports from conducting probe into the status of all the millions assigned to Gambian football over the years. A new chapter has dawned in the country’s history, and with it an era of scrutiny.

Watching his mannerisms and comments in recent weeks, it became obvious the man in charge of Gambian football is a bully, a manipulative conman willing to take covert operations against anyone dare criticise or challenged him on the poor direction and misplaced priorities of Football House. This manifestation showed itself when the Minister of Sports, Hon Gomez express concern at the obscene amount of money ascribed to repairs and the exorbitant fees of building projects not measuring to scratch. I say well done to the Sports Minister recognising the stakes therein and calling out failures for what it is. My message to GFF is to look at FIFA sponsored projects in Senegal, and Ivory Coast, and Ghana built to high standards on par with football academies in Europe. Gambian football fans and the aspiring youngsters coming through the ranks continue to be short-changed, quite frankly cheated by men in suits too busy enriching themselves through dodgy deals & false accounting. The Ministry of Sports must begin investigations in earnest scrutinising financial records over the many years. This Gambian thing of ‘’Mbokka Mbokka’’ quote-on-quote ‘’Maslaa’’ has got to stop if real progress if what we desire. Folks ‘’Maslaa Bi Deffa Doii’’. We got to stop dragging corruption and failures under the carpet and call it for what it is. Please, this ain’t about witch-hunt. My conscience is clear – the point being if we are to be successful in all that we do, and to be prosperous, and to establish trustworthy institutions for the challenges ahead – then let’s call a spade-a-spade.

I would have respected Kabba Bajo & perhaps argue for him to be given more time had he come out admit mistakes under his tenure: Had he admitted, for example, ‘’although we did a bit, we have failed the fans. But we have recognised those mistakes and are liaising with the line Ministry implementing new methods looking at successes in Senegal, Germany, and other countries in terms of modernisation of football in the country’’. I have always said that Gambians naturally are an understanding lot – but what angers me is when failures are defended with arrogance, disregarding public good, and an affront to the law. Despite overwhelming evidence, it is of great surprise the leadership refused to raise hands come clean to the public. The Gambia cannot properly move forward unless past mistakes & injustices are rectified before embarking on new steps.

I find it troubling that the management is using every excuse & trick in the book avoiding a press conference. My message to Football House is – putting up bricks and mortar with corrugated Iron on top declaring it cost twenty million won’t fly. Tabling Repairs that don’t match to scratch costing even more millions – where da heck do ya think we hail from, kanilai? To every governmental nexus – the days of business-as-usual is over. The Gambian people did not sacrifice lives and limb for a few at the top to live majorly. In an era of information technology, the young people are mobilised, empowered more than ever – judging your tenures through actions and deeds.

It is therefore no coincidence that failures have come to define Gambian football, looking at successes registered by Senegal, Ghana and Ivory Coast. The long suffering ‘Scorpions fans’ deserve better, Honourable Gomez knows it, the Diaspora knows it too, so does the fanbase, and I suspect the powers-that-be at GFF knew it too. President Barrow, on a recent interview with Eye Africa TV affirms his love for football and that government is looking at holistic approach to reform it, in fact all sports. If ever Minister Gomez needs an alibi to effect changes, there is your license – albeit THRU the due-process.

In terms of professionalization of sports from athletics, cricket, Tennis, Basketball, across the whole Olympic spectrum for an effective use of allocated money, those bodies must be summoned to Parliament to answer tough questions why they have failed so far. Gambia, we are in the big-time now, politics isn’t everything – Yes, we yearn for true democracy, desiring economic success, progress in agriculture and academic excellence with quality schools & colleges. Sporting success however leads to a feel-good factor. In England, for instance, when the National team achieves success the immigration topic or Brexit is related to the fringes of newspaper-headlines. National pride takes over the entire media landscape. And for a country as The Gambia, globally known as #DestinationTOURISM, big sports stars & sporting success will certainly help in terms of soft-power diplomacy attracting global media coverage, and even more tourists & investments into the country. The problem, and this is Africa-wide, the so-called leaders in charge of institutions and sports bodies are clueless as to how the international order relates in terms of government-NGO-Public Relations. The other problem is Gambian sports journalist showing themselves, failing the public by not putting the right questions to GFF. Watch this, as soon as the Ministry of Sports announce investigations into GFF failures, you shall see Kaba Bajo sprint out with accusations of government interference into how he runs Football. And writing to FIFA to protest as such. Well the public will be ready with an answer, and I have one too, which is – if you are so sure of innocence then why panic? With all the millions pouring in from FIFA, the fans deserve better – looking to a day when Gambian football shall get a fair deal as to quality football facilities up and down the country. In my opinion, Football-House need fresh ideas & to embark on a new direction of which the current leadership structure should play no part.

Gibril Saine, LONDON

Gambia’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubacarr Tambadou has Friday, August 4,  launched the National Consultations on the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission at the Djembe Beach Hotel, Kololi.

Minister Tambadou in his keynote address said the country must know the truth of human rights violations of the former regime of Yahya Jammeh who has ruled the tiny West African country with impunity for the past 22 years.

The Justice Minister said the government has taken his ministry as a focal point to launch the commission and its implementations with the broad objective to obtained the views and opinions of the Gambian public about the commission and sensitise the general populace on the concepts, issues, rationales and objectives of the commission..

“To maximize the effectiveness of our consultations, we shall include all the key stakeholders in this process,” he asserted.

Minister Tambadou said the emphasis of the government is to ensure that the processes and mechanisms put in place are inclusive, extensive and driven by the people in the hope that it will guarantee a transparent, credible and effective outcome.

“The process of the national consultations will no doubt lay a solid foundation for reconciliation in our communities broken and shattered by the atrocities of the last two decades,” Minister Tambadou asserted.

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice who was a former prosecutor at a genocide tribunal said the consultations would bring together representatives of a cross section of Gambian communities including youth, women and children organisations, civil societies, religious communities, media, and staff of the ministry of justice who shall form the core team for the consultations. He stressed that the meetings will be open to the general public.

“The principal objective of the truth, reconciliation and reparations commission shall be to create an impartial historical records of the violations and abuses of human rights from July 1994 to January 2017,” he pointed out.

“We must know the truth as a first step to promote healing and reconciliation, responding to needs of the victims, addressing impunities and putting in place mechanisms to prevent recurrence of the past violations,” he added.

Minister Tambadou said the commission will seek to make known the fate of disappeared victims among other things. It will also give opportunity to the victims to relate the account of abuses suffered and recognized the sufferings to restore the dignity of the victims through granting reparations in appropriate cases.

“The Commission shall submit to the president a comprehensive report which will set out its activities and findings base on factual and objective information,” he said.

Minister Tambadou further stated that the commission would make recommendations to the president with regard to creation of institutions conducive to the development of stable and democratic society as well as the institutional, legislative and administrative measures which shall be taken to prevent abuses and violations of human rights in the future. The commission, he said shall recommend the granting of amnesty of persons in appropriate cases. It will be mandated to enquire into all manners of human rights abuses under former president Jammeh from 22 July 1994.

“This is not only about the recent victims of the junglers but it is for every single victim throughout the 22 years of former president Jammeh,” Justice Minister said.

The Minister said they might not be able to prosecute every single perpetrator but they must be encouraged to at least tell the truth about the abuses in a manner normal criminal proceedings would not permit. He said it will take different forms including guarantees against future prosecutions in appropriate cases.

“Perpetrators who does not come forward to tell the truth before the commission, will face prosecution should there be credible evidences of their involvement in any abuses,” he interjected.

The Minister reiterated that the commission will be guided by international laws in granting amnesty. He called on the support of the international donor partners.

The UN Resident Coordinator, Madam Ade Mamonyane Lekeotje commended the TRRC and the Gambian people for their patience.

“I’m confident the victims will be given the opportunity to express their problems,” UN Coordinator asserted.

She emphasised the importance of dialogue in the process.

Meanwhile, there were several stakeholders including victims and families of the victims present at the launching of the commission.

President Adama Barrow has said his government is open to any initiative that will bring peaceful resolution to the conflict in the south of Senegal, including allowing the rebel leader Salif Sadio to pass through The Gambia with his men to attend peace talks with the Senegalese government in Italy.

The Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) is the main separatist movement in the Casamance region of Senegal that has been fighting with their government since 1982.
Italy-based Community of Sant’Egidio, a Christian community with 50,000 members in more than 70 countries, has since brokered a peace talks between Senegal and the separatist.

In June, Salif Sadio told Zig FM that they want to reach out to The Gambia as a transit point to travel to Italy to have peace talks with the Senegalese government but Barrow said they are yet to make any official contacts.

“They have not made any official contacts yet. I have met an Italian priest who is involved in these peace talks and as far as we are concern, we will be part of anything that will bring peace in Senegal or its southern region Casamance,” Barrow told The Standard.

“It is in the interest of both The Gambia and Senegal. Without peace, nothing is possible. If there is anything like that, we will fully cooperate.”

The Gambia and Senegal have deepened bilateral ties since the fall of Jammeh, however, President Barrow promised The Gambia won’t be a party to a conflict it wants to solve.

“We do everything on principle. Principle is the guiding force behind whatever we are doing in this country… We want to do things that are correct and we want to make sure we protect the rule of law,” Barrow said when asked if Sadio won’t find himself in a trap if he attempts to transit through The Gambia given the very close relations between the two countries.

“We want to be judged for good things after office. If you want to solve a problem, you should not be part of the problem.”

“Jammeh gave us the facility to go through The Gambia to go to these negotiations in Rome,” Sadio had said.

“With the new authorities, we have not yet contacted, but the community of Sant’Egidio is worried.”

Source: Standard Newspaper

The mayor of Kanifing municipality has accused the National Environment Agency, (NEA) of trying to politicise the national cleansing exercise, set-settal.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, Yankuba Colley said the NEA’s decision to organise last Saturday’s set-settal without consulting his office was an act of sabotage calculated to paint a bad image of his leadership.

“The NEA deliberately staged Saturday’s cleansing exercise ignoring my office’s suggestion to push to another weekend to allow us to mobilise more manpower. I am very disappointed with the NEA and I must admit that the situation is getting out of control. I don’t know, but maybe some people are just doing this to the [Kanifing Municipal Council] to sabotage my leadership because I come from the opposition APRC,” Mayor Coley lamented.

He said the majority of the KMC’s workforce is old people and the council had to cough up D200, 000 just to collect and dump the waste.
“At one point, we even had to seek help from the military. I want to make it very clear that, KMC didn’t organise the last cleansing exercise and that being the case, nobody should blame us for anything. We advised the NEA not to stage it at that time but they refused to adhere to our recommendation,” he grumbled.

He pointed out: “Gambians should recognise the fact that Kanifing is the biggest municipality in the country… and it is obvious that the Council don’t have the capacity to do it all alone.
“I would also like to call on all Gambians to put their political differences aside and focus on national development. Yes, I am from the APRC, but that doesn’t mean that people should work towards my downfall at the expense of the entire council and municipality. We have to be patriotic and rise above partisan politics,” Mayor Colley concluded.

Source: Standard Newspaper

The Ministry of Justice in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will conduct nationwide consultations on the establishment and implementation of a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) in The Gambia from 14^th to the 24^th of August 2017. The national consultations will be led by the Honourable Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubacarr M. Tambadou.

The main objective of the consultations is to solicit the views and opinions of Gambians on the establishment of the proposed Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission in The Gambia. Some of the pertinent issues to be discussed with public will relate to the proposed objectives and functions of the TRRC.

Objectives of the Commission

The proposed objectives of the Commission are to –

(a) create an impartial historical record of violations and abuses of human rights from july1994 to January 2017, in order to-

(i) promote healing and reconciliation,

(ii) respond to the needs of the victims;

(iii) address impunity; and

(iv) prevent a repetition of the violations and abuses   suffered.

(b) recommend the granting of amnesty to persons in appropriate cases;

(c) establish and make known the fate or whereabouts of disappeared victims;

(d) provide victims an opportunity to relate their own accounts of the violations and abuses suffered; and

(e) grant reparations to victims in appropriate cases.

Functions of the Commission

(1) The proposed functions of the Commission is to initiate and coordinate investigations into-

• violations and abuses of human rights;
• the nature, causes and extent of violations and abuses of human rights, including the antecedents, circumstances, factors, context, motives and perspectives which led to such violations and abuses;
• the identity of all persons, authorities, institutions and organizations involved in such violations;
• the question whether such violations were the result of deliberate planning on the part of the State, its organs or other groups or an individual;
• the gathering of information and the receiving of evidence from any person, which establish the identity of victims of such violations, their fate or present whereabouts and the nature and extent of the harm suffered by such victims; and
• determining what evidence have been destroyed by any person in order to conceal violations and abuses of human rights.

(2) The Commission shall-

(a) prepare a comprehensive report which sets out its activities and findings based on factual and objective information and evidence collected, received by it or placed at its disposal; and

(b) make recommendations to the President with regard to the creation of institutions conducive to the development of a stable and democratic society as well as the institutional, administrative and legislative measures which should be taken in order to prevent the commission of violations and abuses of human rights.

The Government of The Gambia under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice will launch the National Consultations on the TRRC, at the Djembe Hotel on the 4^th day of August 2017. Ministers, members of the Diplomatic Corp, Judges and members of the legal profession, international development partners, civil society organizations, journalist, religious/traditional leaders, youth groups, women groups, the victims association, etc. will be in attendance. The Minister of Justice will deliver the keynote address and perform the official launch of the nationwide consultations. This will be preceded by addresses from the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Development Programme of The Gambia and the Executive Director of Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA).

The Ministry of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters is expected to receive a US$30 Million Dollars investment from the West Africa Regional Fisheries Programme (WARFP) to develop fish landing sites in the country.

Hon. James FP Gomez, the Minister of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters  made these revelations in his opening statement at a two day stakeholders retreat at the Djembe Hotel, Kololi.

Minister Gomez informed the participants that The Gambia has joined other countries and would benefit from the second phase of the West Africa Regional Fisheries Programme (WARFP).

“The expected investment for The Gambia from this programme is US$30 Million with justifications on developing the landing sites and adding value to the fisheries products for improved food security and poverty eradication,” Minister James Gomez said.

Minister Gomez further disclosed the formation of Project Preparatory Team (PPT) during the first quarter of the year. The team he said has started work in earnest, identifying and preparing for the project implementation with effect from January 2018 for 5 years.

He spoke about the project development objective of WARFP to improve the management of selected fisheries, increase the post harvest value of catch in targeted landing sites and improve an enabling environment for aquaculture development.

The Fisheries Minister further revealed another budget of US$442, 000 thousand dollars project secured from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations that is intervening in the Aquaculture sub-sector. He commended the support and collaboration of the European Union EU and the United Nations Development Programme UNDP. He also spoke about the Memorandum of Understanding MoU signed with the government of Turkey. He mentioned the bilateral cooperation signed between the Gambia Government and the Republic of Senegal.

The Food and Agriculture Organization FAO Representative, Dr. Perpetua Katepa Kalala commended the Ministry of Fisheries for bringing together key stakeholders to jointly discuss and identify the main challenges that the sector faces and map the way forward to improve the country’s development objectives.

“The sector has great potential which when attained will be a game changer for national development,” Dr. Perpetua FAO Representative said.

He added: “A major contribution to the Gambia’s socio-economic development is embedded within this sector which could help in poverty alleviation with 12 percent to GDP.”

Dr. Perpetua said FAO has been providing technical assistance and advice in the formulation and implementation of policies, strategies, programmes and projects in fisheries and agriculture sectors aimed at improving food security.

He disclosed that the FAO has recently supported the sector with three Telefood projects, through capacity building and provision of fishing boats with outboard engines, life jackets and boats to two inland fishing communities and ten boats to TRY Oyster Association and its fifteen affiliated villages for the sustainable and efficient harvesting of oyster.

She thanked the Fisheries Minister for signing the FAO Country Programming Framework and the preparation of the next cycle CPF 2018–2021 that has commenced.

Meanwhile, the specific objectives for organising the retreat among other things is to engage stakeholders and partners in sharing information relevant to improved planning of the management and development of the fisheries sector. The retreat would identify and prioritise issues affecting the contribution of the sector in national socio-economic development. He also highlighted that the government would collaborate with its development and donor partners to improve value chain for fisheries and aquaculture transformation among other principal outcome areas.

Jarreh Darboe, 37, a Gambian staying in Hawthorn Road, Little Sutton in the UK and another man have been jailed for attempting to import £43,000 worth of drugs.
Darboe whose rented house in Hoole was at the centre of the case – was sentenced at Chester Crown Court along with John Richards, 50, of Bourne Mill Drive, Birmingham.

Darboe was imprisoned for two years and three months while Richards was jailed for one year and eight months. Their downfall came thanks to a joint investigation by Cheshire Police and the UK Border Agency (UKBA) which began in June 2014 when the UKBA intercepted a parcel from South Africa that contained 4.48kg of cannabis.
The parcel was addressed to a resident on Sumpter Pathway, Hoole in Chester.

Checks were conducted at the address, where it was established that the parcel was addressed to a former tenant and the home was now occupied by Darboe, who claimed he knew nothing about the delivery.
However, suspicions were aroused once again in October 2014 when UKBA intercepted a second package containing 4.22kg of cannabis resin which was destined for Sumpter Pathway.

After making the discovery the UKBA contacted colleagues at Cheshire Police, who intercepted the parcel as it was delivered at Darboe’s address on October 13. At the time of delivery, Darboe was working in his Chester hair salon in Brook Street but, having been told that his parcel was about to arrive, he swiftly arranged for a member of his family to return home to sign for the parcel.

However, the man sent to collect the parcel got more than he was expecting when undercover officers swooped to arrest him on suspicion of drugs offences, before searching the address.
Officers also conducted a warrant at Darboe’s Brook Street salon and arrested him on suspicion of importing class B drugs.

Darboe denied any involvement, claiming he believed the parcel contained hair products that his friend, ‘Tony Mendy’ from Birmingham, had asked to be delivered to Darboe’s address.
Source: Chester chronicle

Source Standard Newspaper

China has waived a U$D12 million loan to The Gambia following the signing of a debt relief protocol this week with China where Foreign affairs Minister Ousinaou Darboe is currently on a visit.
Saikou Ceesay, the spokesperson for the foreign affairs ministry confirmed to The Standard that the “four interest-free” loans were contracted between the years 1975 to 1991.

“The Chinese side agreed to exempt The Gambia from repaying the aforementioned debts due and totalling of 82, 850, 000 RMB Yuan ($12,322,909),” the agreement seen by The Standard states.
Meanwhile, Chinese local media reported on Wednesday that China have offered to support Gambia in infrastructure, agriculture, tourism and other areas.

Gambia’s new government, which took over from former long-time leader Yahya Jammeh this year, has pledged to continue relations with Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Wang told Ousainou Darboe at a meeting in Beijing that China was ready “to enhance cooperation with Gambia in infrastructure, agriculture, tourism and other fields.”

Wang said the resumption of diplomatic ties had not only brought bilateral relations back on the right track but also opened up broad prospects for cooperation.
Gambia would stick to the one-China policy, which asserts that Taiwan is part of China, and was looking forward to pragmatic cooperation with China in various fields, the ministry quoted Darboe as saying.

Source: The standard Newspaper

Information reaching this medium has it that 31 Gambian immigrants have been deported from Tripoli, Libya.

According to reliable sources the 31 deported immigrants arrived at the Banjul International Airport in the early hours of Wednesday. They were reportedly escorted from the airport to the Independent Stadium where they are kept for documentation before leaving to meet their family members. Sources say they were not happy with the situation at the stadium.

The deportation of the immigrants from Tripoli is said to have been coordinated by the United Nations and International Migration Organization with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Gambians Abroad.

Many of the deportees disclosed that they have volunteered to come back because of the deplorable living conditions in the war torn Arab country. They talked about the kidnappings by the rebel groups who requests high amounts of money for ransoms. They said there are so many Gambians who are ready to come back home.

Talking to Hatab Jeng, one of the deportees who spent 5 years in the unstable country said he was captured by one of the rebel groups and was detained for six months.

“We were living in very difficult conditions there,” Hatab Jeng said.

Hatab said he traveled to the Arab country in search of greener pastures to support his family at home. He said he was engaged in skilled work such as engineering, welding and construction to earn a living.

The deportees complained of hardship at the stadium saying they were not given any food except a small piece of bread.

Meanwhile, the officials could not be reached for comment.