President unexpectedly sacks army top brass

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh unexpectedly sacked his top two military officials late Tuesday, but gave no reason for the dismissals, the first since the Gambian army was formed in 1981. A communique from the defence ministry read on state television said the army chief of staff, Baboucarr Jatta, and his deputy, Momodou Badjie, had been relieved of their duties and retired from the military with immediate effect. Jatta had been the army chief-of-staff since the military coup that brought the president to power 10 years ago. He was one of the longest survivors in the Jammeh government and was widely considered safe in his post on account of his closeness to the Gambian leader. No official reason was given for dismissing him, although the opposition was quick to link the move to an anti-corruption drive. At the end of last year, Gambia launched "Operation No Compromise" to deal with corruption in government and Jammeh has vowed to spare no-one. A corruption commission started its hearings in July. Jammeh, who is defence minister as well as president, also dismissed Momodou Kanteh as camp commandant of Yundum, the country’s biggest barracks. The military camp is located opposite the international airport, around 25 km from the capital, Banjul. Tuesday's communique said the president had appointed Vincent Jatta as the new armed forces chief and Lang Tombong Tamba, who is currently serving with the United Nations Mission in Liberia, as his deputy.