Gambia Arrests 2 in Plot on U.S. Official
By Associated Press

January 12, 2003, 7:56 PM EST

BANJUL, Gambia -- Gambian authorities have arrested two people in a
suspected plot against the U.S. ambassador here, a U.S. State Department
official said Sunday. 

The plot concerned "a possible threat" to Ambassador Jackson McDonald, a
State Department official in Washington said on condition of anonymity. 

Neither U.S. Embassy officials in the capital, Banjul, nor Gambia
military or government officials could immediately be reached for
comment. 

News of Thursday's arrests emerged only late Sunday. U.S. authorities
gave no details. 

Gambia, a former British colony that won independence in 1965, is a
predominantly Muslim nation of 1.5 million people. A largely tranquil
West African country of poor farmers, Gambia is not known for harboring
anti-American sentiment. 

McDonald was appointed to the Gambian post in 2001. 

The State Department official said U.S. officials took the matter "very
seriously." Diplomatic security agents were en route to aid Gambia in
the investigation, the official said. 

"We thank the government of the Gambia for their excellent assistance to
the embassy on security matters and to the United States on the war on
terrorism," the official said. 

In November, Gambian media reported the arrests of four Middle Eastern
men suspected by the government of having links to Osama bin Laden's
al-Qaida network. The men were released in December after being
questioned by U.S. investigators, Gambian newspapers reported. 

That was the only known instance of any suspected presence here by
al-Qaida or associated groups. 
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

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