Gambia’s President Urges Calm Amid Protests Over Power Cuts

The Gambia’s President Adama Barrow has urged citizens to remain calm amid ongoing protests over prolonged power cuts.

He warned that several parts of West Africa are facing an electricity crisis and pledged to boost power supplies by next month.

The protests followed reports of outages lasting up to 48 hours, with residents burning tyres and blocking roads.

Barrow promised a new 24‑megawatt generator at Brikama power station and a 50MW solar plant in Soma, aiming to improve supply by October.

Nawec chief Gallo Saidy said reduced imports from the regional grid, due to lower rainfall and high temperatures, were contributing.

The unrest comes months before the presidential election, in which Barrow seeks a controversial third term.

In a televised address, Barrow urged protesters not to damage public infrastructure and called outages a national‑security emergency.