SUMMARY

[Note to reader: this Country page primarily contains brief information about state-based violence during the period 1946–1974, and to some extent 1975–1988. For more detailed information on organized violence after 1989, please consult the specific Conflict and Dyad pages available on the left-hand side of this page. These pages contain more detailed information regarding all three categories of organized violence in this country from 1989 and onwards (when applicable), as well as detailed information about state-based violence 1975–1988. The left-hand side menu also contains links to Actor pages for all groups involved in organized violence since 1989 in this country, as well as actors involved in state-based violence 1975–1988.]

The Gambia gained independence through peaceful means on 18 February 1965, as a constitutional monarchy within the British Commonwealth. In 1970, Gambia became a republic following a referendum.

During the whole Cold War era, Gambia was a multi-party democracy led by President Dawda Kairaba Jawara, who was re-elected five times during his tenure. The relative stability of the Jawara era was broken by a violent unsuccessful coup attempt in 1981. The coup was led by Kukoi Samba Sanyang, who had unsuccessfully sought election to the parliament on two occasions. Sanyang subsequently formed the leftist, 12-member National Revolutionary Council (NRC. While President Jawara was absent on a trip to Britain, Sanyang’s group together with disaffected members of the military attempted to topple the government on 30 July 1981. Upon their brief seizure of power, they announced the suspension of the country’s constitution and their intention to establish a ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’. After a week of violence which left several hundreds dead, President Jawara appealed to Senegal for help and with the help of Senegalese troops, he managed to defeat the rebels in August 1981.

In the aftermath of the attempted coup, Senegal and Gambia signed the 1982 Treaty of Confederation. The result, the Senegambia Confederation, aimed to combine the armed forces of the two nations and to unify economies and currencies. Gambia withdrew from the confederation in 1989.

Since 1946 Gambia has experienced the intrastate category of UCDP organized violence.