Gambia leader urges peace at start of presidential campaign
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.
Banjul. Gambian President Yahya Jammeh urged his supporters to abstain from violence Wednesday, as rights groups raised concerns over the arrest of journalists at the outset of a presidential election campaign.
The call came as one of the three detained members of the press -- photojournalist Alagie Manka, who was arrested last week for taking pictures of the president’s supporters -- was released late Wednesday, officials said.
Human Rights Watch has expressed alarm over the detention of Momodou Sabally, the director-general of Gambia’s state television and radio broadcaster, and his colleague Bakary Fatty.
