Senegal summons Gambian ambassador over executions

Senegalese President Macky Sall said on Tuesday that he has summoned Gambia’s ambassador after confirming that two of its nationals were among nine prisoners executed by firing squad in neighbouring Gambia amid international outcry.Sall joined international appeals for Gambia to halt a series of planned executions of death row prisoners which includes a third Senegalese citizen.“I have asked the prime minister to summon the ambassador of The Gambia tomorrow to notify the position of the state of Senegal. If he does not come at the appointed time, he will leave Senegal,” Sall told a news conference late on Tuesday.The executions, more of which are planned in coming weeks, could upset delicate ties between the two poor West African neighbours just as Sall seeks Gambia’s cooperation to end the separatist conflict in Senegal’s Casamance region.Gambian President Yahya Jammeh vowed this month to execute all of 40-plus death row inmates by mid-September “to ensure that criminals get what they deserve.” His announcement drew condemnation from the African Union, the European Union, Britain, Germany, France and human rights groups.The United States also condemned “the lack of transparency and haste” of the executions and an apparent lack of due process leading to the death sentences.Gambia confirmed on Monday it had executed six civilians and three members of the army for a variety of crimes which, it said, all involved murder.Rights group Amnesty International, said in a statement that the 38 people still on death row faced imminent risk of execution, adding that there were concerns most of them were convicted after unfair trials.