The Gambia army spokesman has confirmed the release of four detained soldiers, who were members of a paramilitary hit squad of former president Yahya Jammeh, after confessing their roles in several high profile killings before the country’s Truth Commission.

Major Lamin Sanyang said the four soldiers, all members of the infamous Jungulers, were released last Saturday, August 10.

He said the four soldiers are still serving in the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) but have been sent on administrative leave as part of the recommendation from the Justice Ministry.

The freed soldiers are Lieutenant Malick Jatta, Staff Sergeant Omar Jallow aka ‘Oya’, Staff Sergeant Amadou Badjie and Warrant Officer Class 1 (WOC1) Pa Ousman Sanneh.

He said the four were freed on Saturday morning by the Military Police at the Fajara Barracks; that the four are still serving members of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) but have been sent on Administrative leave as part of the recommendation from the Justice Ministry.

However two other army detainees and former members of the Jungulers, Warrant Officer Class 1 Alieu Jeng and Ismaila Jammeh, a brother to ex-president Yahya Jammeh, are still in custody.

The soldiers were all arrested in 2017 after former president Yahya Jammeh was forced out of office by a regional intervention force led by Senegalese soldiers following a political impasse that emanated after a shock election defeat to an opposition coalition.

Last month at the country’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, set up to investigate human rights abuses and atrocities during the Jammeh regime, the former members of the Jungulers all confessed to being involved in several high profile killings and assassinations including that of veteran journalist, Deyda Hydara.

The Attorney General and Justice minister, Abubacarr Tambadou, last month said that the soldiers release was not an amnesty but rather to encourage other perpetrators to come forward and speak the truth regarding atrocities they might have been involved in.

“We have come a long way together and we must continue to push on. Let us make every effort to establish the truth about all the victims and not just some. Every victim family deserve to know the truth about their loved ones,” he told journalists at a press conference last month in Banjul.