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| - Gambia's truth and reconciliation commission began hearing its final witness Thursday, an AFP journalist said, after more than two years of probing alleged abuses committed under ex-president Yahya Jammeh. Jammeh seized power in 1994 as part of a bloodless military coup in the tiny West African state. He then ruled with an iron fist until January 2017, when he fled to Equatorial Guinea after losing presidential elections to a relative unknown, Adama Barrow. Gambia's government subsequently established a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) to investigate alleged abuses committed while Jammeh was in power, such as the use of death squads and torture. Over 370 witnesses have testified since January 2019, including former government ministers and members of an elite paramilitary unit loyal to Jammeh known as the "Junglers". On Thursday, the panel began interviewing 42-year-old Capitain Saikou Jallow, the former dictator's personal assistant, who testified that Jammeh had ordered the killing of several of his own family members. A judge said that the hearings would continue on Friday, and then end with conclusions from the panel. The former dictator, 56, still has his supporters in the poor nation, but there have also been calls for him to be returned to the country for prosecution. The TRRC has no power to convict, however, it may recommend pursuing criminal charges against Jammeh. Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Monday that the hearings "underscored the need for a criminal investigation". et-mrb/siu/eml/spm
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