The Gambia government has expressed concerns about the Rohingya minority in Myanmar after the military seized power in the country.

The government condemned the coup and called on Myanmar’s military junta to release all civilian leaders including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. 

President Barrow joined a list of other world leaders to have spoken out after Myanmar’s military declared a state of emergency over claims there were “huge discrepancies” in last November’s election.

Government spokesman, Ebrima Sankareh, said: “we are gravely concerned that the same military leadership that marginalised the Rohingya has now seized full control of the Myanmar government, and we fear they may launch another so-called “clearance operation” to rid the country of the approximately 600,000 Rohingya who survived the last round of human rights violence. We are thus monitoring events very closely.

“We emphasize that the Court’s Provisional Measures, ordered in January 2020, are binding on Myanmar, no matter who heads the government. 

“We demand that the military officials who have seized power abide by the Court’s orders and Myanmar’s international obligation.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba