Editing Gambia Armed Forces (section)

=== Increasing discontent (1990–1994) ===
In 1990, ECOWAS despatched troops to [[Liberia]] as part of the [[Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group|ECOWAS Monitoring Group]] (ECOMOG). In August, 105 Gambian soldiers deployed to [[Monrovia]], alongside Ghanaian, Nigerian, Guinean, and Sierra Leonean troops. Some in The Gambia questioned the goal of the mission and others doubted the military's readiness to participate. During the first deployment, two Gambian soldiers, Corporal Modou Bojang and Private Sama Jawo were killed. This contingent arrived home on 13 April 1991. Two months later, soldiers from the unit mutinied and went on a protest march to the State House, over claims they were owed money from their deployment. Jawara agreed to meet them, paying them the money and promising to look into their other requests. Immediately following the mutiny, the commanding officer (CO) of the GNA, Colonel Momodou Ndow Njie, was dismissed.<ref name=":0" />

Less than a month following the incident, the government announced that the Nigerian Army Training Assistance Group (NATAG) would be arriving to help train and equip the Gambian soldiers. Further to this, the head of NATAG, Colonel Abubakar Dada, was to become the new CO of the GNA, which "shocked" the Gambian soldiers. In the nine months between this announcement and NATAG arriving, in 1992 Gambia suffered another mutiny that was very similar to the first, perpetrated by the second contingent of peacekeepers returning from Liberia. These two mutinies demonstrated the growing sense of distrust in the ranks, primarily from ECOMOG peacekeepers and junior officers who saw that promotions were based on favoritism, eroding their confidence in the hierarchy. Another concern was the extent to which Nigerians had control over the senior ranks.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:A Gambian soldier salutes during Senegal's national anthem during the opening ceremonies for Western Accord 2012 in Thies, Senegal, June 9, 2012 120609-Z-KE462-133.jpg|thumb|Gambian soldiers in 2012|300x300px]]
In 1992, the government disbanded the Gambia National Gendarmerie, which had served to counter the two mutinies in 1991 and 1992. It was merged into a unit in the police called the Tactical Support Group (TSG). This action, according to several former soldiers, caused the [[1994 Gambian coup d'état|1994 coup d'etat]] to be "fait accompli" because there was no one to counter the army. On the morning of 22 July 1994, when Jawara was at his office in the State House, he received a report that armed soldiers were approaching. They far outnumbered the contingent of presidential guards at the State House that day, and so Jawara quickly fled. The mutinying soldiers briefly exchanged fire with the TSG and after overpowering the police, had no trouble in taking over the state. The whole affair was over by midday, with no bloodshed.<ref name=":0" />