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Gambia to open land borders before week ends

Oct 14, 2020, 10:53 AM | Article By: Sankulleh Gibril Janko

The Gambia Government Spokesperson Ebrahim Sankareh on Tuesday confirmed that the country will officially open its land borders before the end of the week.

Responding to a question while speaking to West Coast Radio, Mr. Sankareh told the audience of the developing decision.

Sankareh said: “Borders will be opened before Thursday.”

However, it is not clear if the government will open both the airspace and the land borders simultaneously.

Many Gambians have questioned the rationale of maintaining the land border closure, citing lack of its effectiveness as thousands of travellers cross the only land border to Senegal through various unofficial points.

A classic example was the recent holy pilgrimage to the holy city of Touba Senegal when Gambians and non Gambians alike travelled to grace the occasion.

Interestingly, the very government that officially shut the borders for the past five months denied discouraging anyone from attending the pilgrimage in Touba.

Many Gambians have called on the government to open the land border while enforcing the Health Ministry and WHO guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

It is widely speculated and presumed that the Gambia will only open the land border along Senegal if the Senegalese authorities choose to do so.

It remains to be seen if Dakar will reciprocate when the Gambia opens its border with its only neighbour Senegal.