Violence  Erupts In Gambia!!!

As Western Region Communities Fight

  Land Dispute In Kombo East Land Dozens In Police Net

Armed Police Moved In To Restore Peace

By Staff Reporter James Jammeh.

A major violence rocked the Western region Sunday, when residents of Gibboroh-Kuta and villagers of Gidda in Kombo East District clashed over a disputed land, which nearly rendered the country into instability. Deadly weapons such as: cutlasses, knives, rakes and spades were brandished during the fight amongst villagers, which prompted the timely intervention of armed Police, the Freedom Newspaper can reveal. Dozens of people from Gibboroh-Kuta and Gidda were Sunday January 31st 2010 arrested by the personnel of the Police Intervention Unit (PIU).

The residents  have been  at logger heads over a  disputed piece of land, which is situated  between the two communities for the past couple of years.  They  were armed with cutlasses, rakes, spades and other deadly  weapons with the intention of hurting each other. The armed residents  started to chase each other in the bushes,  which compelled the satellite villages to contact the Regional Governor Lamin Sanneh over the brawl. Mr. Sanneh in turn informed law enforcement to help keep the peace, as the situation degenerates.

According to a newscast broadcast over the state controlled media GRTS, the  strained relationship between the two communities have  been going on  for a long period of time,  as both communities have  claimed ownership of the said land.

In The Gambia, people claimed ownership of  land  by inheritance, state leased, and in some occasions by virtue of  occupation of a given land in a locality. The state reserves the right to evict people from areas earmarked for developmental purposes.

The Governor of  Western Region told GRTS that he one time met with all the parties with the view of resolving the matter, but his repeated appeals for a peaceful settlement was ignored by the villagers. The Governor then registered his disappointment with the villagers conduct-saying that it was wrong for them to take the law into their own hands. He warns that without the timely intervention of the PIU officers the situation would have been disastrous.

IGP Ensa Badjie noted that the police would never tolerate such disorderly conduct  from communities-stressing that they should have taken the matter to the law rather than arming themselves with weapons with the intention to kill one another.

 "The police would not want this type of rudely behavior to occur again because the Babylon Arson Case has given us a wakeup call. A  lot of. belongings and other valuable goods were vandalized during the commotion some years ago, “said the IGP.

Other speakers include:  Police Commissioner of Western Region Marie Ndure and Ebrima Bun Sanneh the Director of the National Drug Enforcement Agency who all condemned  the act saying that it is indeed a  disgrace to see people of the same area fighting for a land with intention to kill or harm each other.

Those arrested include:  youth  and elders from the two communities and were taken to the police Headquarters in Banjul and are expected to be taken to court soon. The police command said they would not leave any  stone  unturned-- in ensuring that justice prevail in this matter. They said the law would take its cause on guilty accused persons. Peace has returned to normal in the area for now.