Gambia: Post-election violence in Kanifing May 13

Event

Post-mayoral election violence broke out in Kanifing municipality on Sunday, May 13, between supporters of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and former President Yahya Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC). The rival groups reportedly threw stones at each other; the number of associated casualties (if any) was not immediately reported. UDP supporters also protested in streets in the city of Serrekunda on Sunday, and attacked the home of an APRC leader and obstructed traffic late on Saturday, May 12 (local time), before being dispersed by security forces. Additional incidents of political violence are possible in the abovementioned areas and elsewhere in Gambia in the coming days.

Context

Tensions have been high in Gambia since the highly contested December 2016 elections. In January 2017, then-President Jammeh declared a three-month state of emergency, pushing thousands of Gambian residents to flee the country amid fears of violent unrest ahead of the presidential handover. Following weeks of political tensions across the country due to Jammeh's refusal to concede defeat after losing the December 2016 presidential election, he finally went into exile in Equatorial Guinea on January 21, 2017.

Advice

Those present in Gambia are advised to monitor the situation, avoid politically sensitive discussions in public, avoid any demonstrations due to the risk of violence, and follow the instructions of local authorities or their home governments.