Tension was reported in Tanji around 11pm on Wednesday after protesters confronted paramilitary officers near the Tanji police station.

Eyewitnesses told Gambiana that the confrontation escalated when officers fired teargas to disperse the crowd.

“Everybody is sneezing. I was sneezing, I nearly collapsed,” one eyewitness said.

“The officers threw teargas. That’s when the woman collapsed at the gate.”

The woman was later taken to Ocean Lodge along the Gunjur Highway after collapsing near the lodge’s gate.

Sources who assisted her said she was lying down and receiving attention there at the time of filing this report.

Sources on the ground said paramilitary officers were subsequently deployed to the area and arrested several protesters.

The incident comes amid ongoing protests over persistent electricity and water shortages and worsening economic conditions under President Adama Barrow’s government.

By Modou Jobe