{"id":89470,"date":"2025-11-05T17:50:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T17:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/mansakonko-chairman-questions-ecowas-forces-stay"},"modified":"2025-11-05T18:36:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T18:36:10","slug":"mansakonko-chairman-questions-ecowas-forces-stay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mansakonko-chairman-questions-ecowas-forces-stay","title":{"rendered":"Mansakonko Chairman Questions ECOWAS Forces&#8217; Stay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong><\/span><b>The prolonged presence of Senegalese and ECOWAS forces at Gambia\u2019s State House has drawn sharp criticism from local leaders, who warn that the continued deployment threatens the country\u2019s sovereignty.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Landing B. Sanneh, Chairman of the Mansakonko Area Council, said the nine-year stay of foreign troops goes far beyond the initial purpose of stabilizing the country after a bloodless political impasse. \u201cIt is getting too late for us as Gambians to silently accept our independence and sovereignty being compromised in broad daylight,\u201d Sanneh said.<\/p>\n<p>The Mansakonko chairman highlighted that while The Gambia benefited from foreign support during times of political uncertainty, the ongoing presence of Senegalese forces is no longer justified. He questioned the strategic role of these troops, asking whether they are engaged in meaningful capacity-building or simply maintaining checkpoints and escorting the President. \u201cOur national security is the responsibility of Gambians. We must empower our own forces instead of relying indefinitely on foreign soldiers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Sanneh referenced historical precedents, noting that former President Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara ended the prolonged presence of Senegalese forces after the 1981 attempted coup, demonstrating that national security can be restored without long-term occupation by foreign troops. He argued that The Gambia\u2019s current situation undermines the country\u2019s hard-won recognition and status in the ECOWAS sub-region.<\/p>\n<p>The chairman stressed that the government must provide clarity to citizens on the rationale behind the continued military presence. \u201cSince the political impasse, there has been no sign of instability or chaos to warrant the ongoing stay of foreign forces, especially in the State House,\u201d he said, calling for a safe and transparent withdrawal.<\/p>\n<p>Sanneh expressed appreciation for the support provided by ECOWAS and Senegal during the 2016 political transition, but warned that overstay may defeat the original purpose of the deployment. He urged regional partners to respect The Gambia\u2019s sovereignty and allow the country\u2019s own security forces to take full responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Government of HE President Barrow, ECOWAS, and the Senegalese authorities need to transparently inform Gambians why this suppression of our national security infrastructure continues,\u201d Sanneh said. \u201cWe cannot remain silent any longer; our nation deserves to breathe the full air of sovereignty.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Gambia<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. The prolonged presence of Senegalese and ECOWAS forces at Gambia\u2019s State House has drawn sharp criticism from local leaders, who warn that the continued deployment threatens the country\u2019s sovereignty. Landing B. Sanneh, Chairman of the Mansakonko Area Council, said the nine-year stay of foreign troops goes far beyond the initial purpose of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":89469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-89470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mansakonko Chairman Questions ECOWAS Forces&#039; Stay - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The prolonged presence of Senegalese and ECOWAS forces at Gambia\u2019s State House has drawn sharp criticism from local l ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mansakonko-chairman-questions-ecowas-forces-stay\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mansakonko Chairman Questions ECOWAS Forces&#039; 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