An ECOMIG soldier manning a checkpoint in Bwiam was injured by a hit-and-run truck driver recently.

The incident happened on Tuesday July 31, 2019 in Bwiam at around 04:40am when a truck carrying logs failed to stop at a military checkpoint manned by ECOMIG forces, a police press statement said.

The soldier, whose identity has not been revealed, was said to have been injured when three logs dropped off the vehicle and hit him.

The police didn’t provide further details on the incident but warned drivers not to defy security controls at checkpoints.

“The Inspector General’s Office urges the general public especially drivers to comply with security procedures at checkpoints as failure to do so will result in the application of the full force of the law,” said the police press statement.

Meanwhile a standoff between ECOMIG forces and drivers on Friday has been resolved after the intervention of the Police Mobile Unit.

ECOMIG soldiers have stepped up security checks after a recent hit-and-run incident at Bwiam checkpoint

A standoff on Friday saw a large number of cars being pulled aside for checks causing traffic and delays.

One of the affected drivers said there were more than fifty cars being held in the traffic jam.

“We had been kept in waiting at the checkpoint for more than two hours,” the driver told Gambiana.

Our reporter made series of phone calls to the spokesman of the ECOMIG but couldn’t reached him.

The forces of the West African bloc have been in the country since 2017 after former President Yahya Jammeh was forced out of office following his refusal to step down after a shock election defeat.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba