GAF conducts joined border patrol with Senegalese troops

Acting on the provisions of a Joint Military Committee Communique signed between the Gambian and Senegalese Armed Forces, a piecemeal implementation of the agreements in the form of joint border patrols has begun. Platoons from two Battalions of the Armed Forces of both countries embarked on their maiden joint border patrol from 20 to 23 August 2024. The patrol covered a total of 30 villages in the Northern border of The Gambia and its adjacent communities on the Senegalese side. The historic exercise involved soldiers of 2 Infantry Battalion (Farafenni Barracks) and their counterparts from Zone 3 (Kaolack region).
The aim of the border patrols is to strengthen the bilateral security cooperation between the two countries and to address emerging security and economic threats among others, along the shared border. In a brief ceremony after the end of the exercise at Posteh (Kerr Ali) in the Gambia, officials of both countries represented by the Governor- North bank Region, Mr Lamin Saidykhan and the Sous Prefet of Kaolack hailed the two governments for their foresightedness. They went further to make a clarion call for peace and stability to prevail between the two countries whose separation was not by default but by design due to colonialism, among other factors. The two administrators also enjoined the two sides to nurture the already existing mutual and cordial relations between the Gambia and Senegal. The convergence was attended security heads in the North Bank Region and opinion and local leaders on the Gambian and Senegalese sides.
It could be recalled that a Joint Military Committee (JMC) comprising senior officers from the Gambian and Senegalese Armed Forces was formed in the early part of 2024. The creation of the JMC was a condition upon which the Defence and Security Cooperation Agreements between The Gambia and Senegal could be implemented by the two Armed Forces in ensuring safety and security along the shared borders. The Committee’s first meeting was held in April 2024 in Ziguinchor and was attended by the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff Gambia Armed Forces, Major General Ousman Gomez and some senior members of GAF including the Battalion Commanders of Yundum, Kanilai, Farafenni and Basse military camps. The second Committee meeting was held in Banjul from 23 to 24 July 2024 and it was attended by the Senegalese Deputy Chief of Defence Staff Major General Fulgence Ndure and some senior officers of the Senegalese Armed Forces including several Zone Commanders.
The patrol teams embarked on Key Leader Engagements as well as offered free medical consultations to over 300 people in the communities they visited. The various Battalions of the two Armed Forces will continue to conduct similar patrols within their respective Areas of Responsibility (AOR).