1994 Gambian coup d'état

1994 Gambian coup d'état
Date 22 July 1994 Location The Gambia Result Coup attempt succeeds. Dawda Jawara is overthrown.
Belligerents
Government of the Gambia	Military faction
Commanders and leaders
Dawda Jawara	Yahya Jammeh

Part of a series on the
History of the Gambia
Chronological
Senegambian stone circles Takrur Mali Empire Songhai Empire Couronian colonization Albreda Gambia Colony and Protectorate Gambia Independence Act 1964 Senegambia Confederation 1994 Gambian coup d'état 2014 Gambian coup d'état attempt
Gambia portal

In the 1994 Gambian coup d'état, a group of soldiers led by then 29-year-old Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh seized power in a bloodless coup d'état on 22 July, ousting Dawda Jawara who had been President of the Gambia since 1970.^[1]

Coup

On 21 July 1994, the USS La Moure County docked in Banjul for an international courtesy call. However, Gambian radio had previously reported that Gambian troops would be conducting a joint training exercise with the American warship. The next day, the coup was set in motion at 7:30 am at Yundum Barracks, a military installation 25 kilometers (15 mi) away from the capital. Gambian soldiers under the command of four junior officers; Yahya Jammeh, Sadibou Hydara, Sana Sabally, and Edward Singhateh seized the airport, a radio station, and a power station ostensibly in a mutiny over lack of pay. Hours later, Dawda Jawara and his family fled to the La Moure County for safety. The ship left Banjul that afternoon and docked in Dakar where Jawara disembarked. The four junior officers established the Provisional Council of the Armed Forces which suspended the constitution and put in place a curfew.^[2][3][4]

See also

• Arch 22

References

Further reading

• Saine, Abdoulaye S.M. (1996). "The Coup d'Etat in The Gambia, 1994: The End of the First Republic". Armed Forces & Society. 23 (1): 97–111.