In Gambia, the Gambian security forces have a history of involvement in domestic politics, including multiple coups attempts and mutinies, with the latest being an attempted coup in 2022; since 2017,
Gambia’s security sector has been undergoing reforms as part of a national reconstruction effort to recover from the 22 years of Yahya JAMMEH’s autocratic rule under which the security forces were severely under-resourced in terms of finances and equipment and were largely directed towards regime protection and suppressing dissent; international partners, including member states of the EU, particularly
France and
Germany, as well as
Turkey and the US have provided support to military and police reforms; several members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have also provided security forces for stability, plus assistance and training through the ECOWAS Mission in the
Gambia (ECOMIG); as of 2023, ECOMIG continued to provide about 1,000 military and gendarmerie personnel from
Ghana,
Nigeria, and
Senegalthe GAF is a small and lightly armed force responsible for external defense, providing maritime security, countering human trafficking, and aiding civil authorities in emergencies and natural disaster relief; it also engages in activities such as engineering, education, health, and agriculture for domestic socio-economic development; the GAF participates in peacekeeping missions, and since its first deployments in the 1990s, has been involved in more than 10 UN peacekeeping missions while contributing about 4,000 total troops
the GAF traces its origins to the
Gambia Regiment of the British Army; established in 1901, the
Gambia Regiment was part of the West African Frontier Force (WAFF, later Royal West African Frontier Force or RWAFF) and served in both World Wars, including the British 1944-45 military campaign in Burma; the
Gambia Regiment was disbanded in 1958 and replaced by the Field Force, a police paramilitary unit; the Field Force was responsible for The
Gambia’s security until the establishment of the GAF in 1985; in addition, a defense agreement signed in 1965 between The
Gambia and
Senegal provided mutual assistance in the face of an external threat; from 1981-1989, The
Gambia and
Senegal formed a Confederal Army that was made up of troops from both countries (2023)