“We appreciate and thank the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) for deploying soldiers at Kerr Pateh village. This has greatly helped in addressing the frequent armed robbery attacks. However, it is important to note that most of the surrounding villages in the area are living in fear due to recent attacks by robbers,” Mamat Njie, the village development committee chairman said.
The VDC chairman was speaking on Tuesday during a visit by the Chief of Defence Staff of the GAF who is currently visiting military installations across the length and breadth of the country. The tour is designed to get first hand information on the living and working conditions of soldiers.
“We want the GAF management to empower the soldiers in the area and provide them with the necessary equipment so that they could continue to patrol in the area and provide the much needed security,” Chairman Njie said.
“We can’t be at peace when our neighbouring villages are living in fear. In fact, there was an armed robbery attack in Talong village and some villagers were seriously beaten by the robbers.”
“We want the GAF to help the soldiers in the area with another vehicle so that they can respond to emergencies. The vehicle that is at the military post is not very good.”
For his part, Ahmed Lamin, a representative of the business community in the area, thanked the CDS for the tour.
“Since the coming of the soldiers at Kerr Pateh village, we no longer have problems like we had before. I was one time a victim of an armed robbery and all my materials were taken by the robbers. Currently, the surrounding villages are in pandemonium due to fear of being attacked by robbers. We want the GAF to help the soldiers with another vehicle.”
Lieutenant General Mamat O. Cham, while responding to issues raised by inhabitants of the area, underscored the significance of peace and stability, saying: “Your concerns and fear have been noted, and I can assure you all that the government is working to address all the security challenges in the country. Additionally, we also want community participation in arresting the menace of robbery in the area.”
CDS Cham also spoke on the hot-pursuit agreement between Gambia and Senegal. “The two governments are working to ensure that we have a parallel patrol within our border villages. Maybe in the near future we will have a joint patrol between the countries. These are all designed to maintain peace within the border villages of the two countries and to ensure that robbers don’t have a safe place at the borders.
Soldiers posted at the village also raised concern on some of the things affecting them, citing lack of mobility, accommodation, communication gadgets, and electricity and among others.
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