Prosecutors in The Gambia have charged the former heads of the Navy and Army with plotting to overthrow President Yahya Jammeh; the BBC has reported.  Former Navy Chief Sarjo Fofona and ex-army Chief of Staff Gen. Langtombong Tamba are accused of being part of a 2006 alleged coup attempt.  Gen Tamba is already on trial alongside other army officials for his alleged part in a failed coup last year.

President Jammeh himself seized power in a coup in 1994.  He has since won three elections amid opposition allegations of harassment.  His critics however say that his government is using allegations of coup plots to intimidate potential rivals and settle scores.  Some unconfirmed reports suggest that the arrests may be linked to the recent seizure of more than two tonnes of cocaine in the country.

Prosecutors say the two former military chiefs “refused or neglected to report [a coup plot] to the appropriate authorities within a reasonable period or time”, according to the AFP news agency.  Another group of senior military officials and businessmen were arrested in March and accused of planning to seize power.  Several people were sentenced to long prison terms over the 2006 coup attempt.

Source:  www.bbc.co.uk

Two Darfur rebel leaders have surrendered to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The men, Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus, were secretly indicted last year. They are wanted for war crimes in connection with the deaths of 12 African Union peacekeepers in 2007. Earlier this year, charges against another rebel leader to do with the same attack were dropped because of lack of evidence. ICC judges ruled prosecutors could not prove that Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, who also gave himself up voluntarily, had planned the attack on the Haskanita AU camp in September 2007. In a statement, the ICC said the two suspects would face the following three war crimes charges when they appear before the chamber on Thursday:

• Murder
• Intentionally directing attacks against peacekeeping personnel
• Stealing property

“It is alleged that the attackers, numbering approximately 1,000, were armed with anti-aircraft guns, artillery guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers,” the statement said. In January 2008, the UN took joint control of the peacekeeping force in Darfur with increased numbers and a stronger mandate. Last year, Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir was indicted on war crimes, which were the first issued by the ICC against a sitting president. He strongly denies the charges – and his government says figures of those killed in the Darfur conflict have been massively exaggerated.

According to the UN, an estimated 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur and more than 2.6 million displaced since ethnic rebels took up arms in 2003. A government minister and pro-government militia leader have also been indicted for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

Source:  BBC Website