Former Gambian soldier, Pa Modou Sarr has sought forgiveness from his victims and the entire nation for his “inhumane actions” during the Jammeh era.

Mr Sarr was testifying before the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission on Thursday.

“What I did is very wrong. I knew about it (and) I’m apologizing to Colonel Baboucarr Sanyang and every Gambian and none Gambian, it was not my intention I am asking for forgiveness,” he pleaded.

He laid into the Gambia Army General, Alagie Martin, saying “I can only blamed Martin for all this mess because he was the one who brought us into this”adding “I am not proud of (what I had done). Why should I be proud? that is why I left the army at a very young age without a rank.”

Mr Sarr said that he “regretted all what I have done—I didn’t have the intention to torture my fellow human beings because I know how killing is because it’s terrible.”

He also said there was no proper command structure among the Gambia Army during the 1994 coup and that anything one was ask to do must be done or you faced serious consequences.

However, Mr Sarr, who joined the Gambia Armed Forces in 1991 accepted to have voluntarily joined the 1994 coupists.

“They were jubilating drinking can drinks while I was standing at the guardroom; they were saying they had won the victory,” he said.

He said he heard that the group had killed some soldiers, adding that he felt “very bad about that because we knew each other”.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba