Sering Modou Njie, the Gambia’s minister of defence, has justified a plan to send Gambian soldiers to Sierra Leone as part of an ECOWAS standby force.

The move follows Sierra Leone’s foiled coup attempt in 2024.

The plan however faced widespread criticism, as critics labelled the move as “bad,” arguing that the country, which hosts regional forces, should focus on maintaining peace at home rather than in another country.

The deployment was approved by parliament last year.

Appearing before lawmakers, the defence minister was questioned about the plan and asked to provide more details. In response, he told parliament: “We have never seen a case where a country benefiting from a peacekeeping mission cannot contribute to another peacekeeping mission. So, we can contribute to the peacekeeping efforts of other nations under the auspices of ECOWAS.”

By Adama Makasuba