Deadly Gambia protest

Police in The Gambia killed three people during a protest against pollution in the southwestern town of Faraba Banta. The town is home to sand-mining operations that locals say are polluting their rice fields. After the incident, five officers were arrested and President Adama Barrow ordered a “full investigation.”

The Gambia has been largely peaceful since the former president, Yahya Jammeh, stepped down on Jan. 21, 2018, in favor of Barrow, who had won a democratic election on Dec. 1, 2016. After Jammeh refused to abdicate, the country saw months of unrest, culminating in military assistance from neighboring Senegal in favor of Barrow. The Gambian army allowed Senegalese soldiers to cross into the country without any resistance.