The Gambia exhumes the remains of seven soldiers from the 1994 coup d'etat

The remains of seven Gambian soldiers who took part in an attempt to overthrow dictator Yahya Jammeh in November 1994 were exhumed as part of an investigation into the troubled past of the country.

After a search of nearly two weeks in a barracks in Yundum, about 30 kilometers from the capital Banjul, investigators "exhumed the skulls of seven soldiers executed 25 years ago", the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission ( TRRC). said in a statement Wednesday night.

The attempted coup in the small state of West Africa came just months after Jammeh took power, overthrowing the democratically elected government.

Jammeh himself was dismissed after losing the election to Adama Barrow in December 2016.

He exiled to Equatorial Guinea in January 2017 after the military intervention of other states of West Africa.

About two dozen soldiers were executed in November 1994 as a result of the move against Jammeh.

"We will continue digging until we see the other skulls," said Thomas Gomez, forensic archaeologist and crime scene investigator, quoted after Wednesday's exhumation.

"We can not say who is here, but all we can tell you is that seven people were buried in this grave." Seven underwear were also found, which could attest to the fact that They were almost half-naked when they were buried. " . "

The relatives of the soldiers were present when the skulls were recovered.

The TRRC, inspired by South Africa's Post-Apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission, seeks to shed light on Jammeh's brutal 22-year reign in the hope that justice will be done and that the victims are closed.

It began its work last October, with the right to investigate and recommendations for prosecution or reparation, but not conviction.

Criminals and witnesses told the TRRC that the execution of the coup soldiers was overseen by Junta No. 2, Sanna Sabbally, under the command of Jammeh himself.

Jammeh rejected several other coup attempts during his long reign, including a candidacy in December 2014.

One of his most feared power tools was an ultra loyal death squad known as "Junglers," which the UN and human rights groups accuse of murder and torture.