NEWS TWO LEFT DEAD, SIX OTHERS CRITICALLY INJURED FOLLOWING SHOOTING INCIDENT IN THE GAMBIA BY STAFF WRITER -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 14, 2005 At least two people were confirmed death, six others critically injured on Sunday in Kanifing following attempts by Gambia's police to disperse demonstrators, who protested the exorbitant ferry tariffs introduced by The Gambian government, a Senegalese prominent newspaper called Lesoleil reported on Tuesday. According to reports reaching the ALLGAMBIAN online newspaper, the demonstrators were handled with an iron hand by Gambia's police, which resulted the deaths of two Gambians and six others critically injured. A lead story carried by the Lesolei Newspaper says, the protesters who were victims of police brutality and heavy handedness demanded that the much talked about exorbitant ferry Tariffs, which provoked The Gambia/Senegalese border crisis be reduced in the interest of sub-regional trade. The paper reported that a Gambian student and a carpenter died during the confrontation, which also left ten Gambian police officers slightly injured. "Shortly after the fracas, The Gambia's police reportedly went ahead arresting demonstrators, who were said to be simply calling for the reduction of tariffs at the ferries. They also called for free movement of goods and people, as was gathered by the correspondent of APS "Agent Presse Senegalese" news network" the Lesoleil reported. According to sources quoted by the Lesoleil Newspaper, on August 19Th, the inhabitants of Basse, a border town which is situated 12 killometers on the east side of Welligara Senegal, also demonstrated calling for the "normalisation of transportation" between Senegal and The Gambia. "The Gambian population in the following towns that are bordering with Senegal-Bansang, Brikama, Soma, Basse, etc had postponed their own side of the demonstration in observance of The Zambia/Senegal football match, that took place on September 3, 2005. They have promised to remain in solidarity with the demonstrators until all tariffs are normalised." the paper intimated. Meanwhile, according to the paper, local Imams in the area have appealed for calm. They urged the demonstrators to remain calm, while urging The Gambian authorities to reestablish dialogue with Senegal, in order to find a lasting solution to the month long border crisis between the two countries. Reports say tiny Gambia had been paralysed economically by the border impasse, as the country was said to have witnessed a dramatic reduction on ferry revenue collections. Neighbouring Senegal had insisted that it will not settle for anything other than ferry tariff reduction. The border impasse still remained unchanged. The Gambian government had not yet reacted to the said story, which is a subject of discussion in the streets of Senegal. The ALLGAMBIAN online newspaper, received numerous mails from concerned Gambians Tuesday, urging us to investigate the Sunday shootings, which reportedly left two people dead and six others critically injured. Following this tip off, we embarked on a vigorous investigations to ascertain the veracity of the story. While local sources confirmed hearing such reports, Senegal's Lesoleil Newspaper in a story confirmed the said shooting did indeed took place in The Gambia. Below is the unedited story of the Lesoleil Newspaper on The Gambian shooting incident. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GAMBIE : Manifestations pour la baisse des tarifs du bac : deux morts et six blessés gambiens Des manifestations réprimées par la Police gambienne ont fait deux morts et six blessés graves, dimanche dans les villes de Sérécounda et de Kanifing où plusieurs personnes réclamaient la baisse des tarifs du bac de Farafégné. Selon des sources proches de la Police frontalière sénégalaise à Kolda (Sud), un étudiant et un menuisier ont trouvé la mort dans les affrontements avec la Police gambienne dont une dizaine de ses éléments ont été légèrement blessés. La Police a, en plus, procédé à des arrestations parmi les manifestants qui, outre le retour aux anciens tarifs du bac, réclament la circulation sans entrave des personnes et des biens, a appris le correspondant de l’Aps à Kolda auprès des mêmes sources. Le 19 août dernier, les habitants de Bassé, une ville frontalière à 12 km à l’est de Vélingara (Sénégal) avaient manifesté pour réclamer « la normalisation » du transport entre le Sénégal et la Gambie. Les populations gambiennes des villes frontalières au Sénégal (Bansa, Birkama, Soma, Bassé, etc.) qui avaient reporté leur marche à cause du match Zambie-Sénégal du 3 septembre dernier, promettent de remettre ça jusqu’à obtenir le retour aux anciens tarifs du bac. Les imams, face à cette situation, sont montés au créneau en appelant les populations au calme et aux autorités gambiennes à rétablir le dialogue avec leurs homologues sénégalaises pour un règlement du problème, selon une source sûre jointe au téléphone par le correspondant de l’Aps. Go To Top -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2004 AllGambian.Net. 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