Bensouda promises to withdraw ECOMIG from The Gambia
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Kerr Fatou
Talib Ahmed Bensouda, a Coalition 2026 candidate in The Gambia’s presidential election, promises to withdraw the ECOWAS military mission and reserve presidential protection for Gambian forces if elected in December. He presented the measure at a rally in Bwiam, in the Foni region, according to Kerr Fatou.
Talib Ahmed Bensouda, mayor of the Kanifing municipality and a Coalition 2026 candidate in December’s Gambian presidential election, has promised to end foreign military protection for the presidency if elected. “No soldier will guard President Talib Bensouda unless they are Gambian soldiers,” he said on Saturday at a rally in Bwiam, in the Foni region, according to Kerr Fatou.
Bensouda notably wants ECOMIG, the military force of the Economic Community of West African States deployed in The Gambia, to withdraw, and national security to be entrusted to Gambian forces. He also condemned repeated incursions into Gambian territory and promised that a Coalition 2026 government would no longer tolerate them.
His programme also provides for Foni to become a separate administrative region, with its own local institutions, and for foreign universities to be attracted there. The announcement came after he defended peaceful demonstrations without permits, published by Bensouda on 23 October.
