Remains of seven soldiers exhumed from Yundum army barracks

CAP PRIZE SHORTLIST 2021: Fatou 'Toufah' Jallow survivor of rape. ‘Toufah’. The rape ordeal perpetrated by the then-President, Yahya Jammeh. . Images ©Jason Florio / Helen Jones-Florio

Yahya Jammeh ruled the Gambia with an iron fist for twenty two years after taking control of the country with a coup in July1994. With Jammeh’s exile after electoral defeat in 2016, a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) was set up to look into his regime’s abuses. The TRRC along with victims families and local media at Yundum army Barracks where the bodies of seven murdered soldiers were exhumed. The soldiers were murdered by soldiers loyal to Jammeh for being allegedly part of a counter coup in November 1994. Witnesses say eleven soldiers were buried at the barracks, so far only seven have been found. Along with the bone fragments, electrical cables were also found that were used to bind the victims hands. The only clothing found were underwear, corroborating witness testimonies that the men were stripped almost naked before being shot.

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