The Chief of Upper Saloum has appealed to the Gambia government to beef up security in his area. Chief Malick Mbaye expressed the belief that such a boost in security would put a stop to the increasing instances of armed robbery taking place in the area.

Speaking to the The Point in a telephone interview, Mr Mbaye said that armed attacks had become too frequent and rampant in Upper Saloum, particularly in Panchang. “This area is close to the border. That is why it is vulnerable to bandits’ attacks,” he said, adding that Panchang’s position a business centre does not make it any less a target.

The Chief however commended the police at Njau Station for what he termed their hard work. “The officers in this police station are doing their best but the armed robbers usually strike unexpectedly and Njau is too far from Panchang,” he said. He however urged businessmen to be vigilant and to report any suspected arm robber so that it could be easier for the police to track them. “Everybody should join hands to make sure that our areas are free from armed robbers. The police alone cannot fight armed robbers without the help of the other people,” Chief Mbye observed.

Meanwhile in another development, there was an attack in Falice Jewellery shop in Pipeline on Sunday, 18th March, 2007 and a laptop worth D25, 000.00 was stolen. The event took place at around 7:55pm.

Soffie Cham, the proprietress, said she was in her shop when a young man entered and called for her to go and sell him some jewellery. She explained that as she got up to show him the items, the man gripped her by the neck and pulled her behind the counter where he wrung her neck until she fainted. On regaining her consciousness, she continued, she man realised to her shock that the man had taken her laptop away. She said that minutes later she collapsed on the ground and remained speechless for sometime before talking to the people who came to help.

A woman in the adjoining Santa Yalla Drug store said that none of them suspected the assailant to be a thief. A taxi driver also said they saw the man parking his motorbike before entering the shop but they did not suspect him either.

Residents of the area said that the resultant closure of Santa Yalla Drug Store affected them as they had to go all the way to West Field or other distant pharmacies to buy drugs. They therefore appealed to the police and security agents to help them by putting in place counter measure to tackle the menace of violent robberies.