photo emerges of embattled Jammeh as a young military ruler

photo has emerged of Gambia president Yahya Jammeh as a young soldier in 1994 when he was only 29 years old and a lieutenant in the Gambian Army.On July 22, 1994, Jammeh took power as a 29-year-old Lieutenant in a bloodless military coup from Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara by taking control of key facilities in the capital city, Banjul along with some young officers who identified themselves as the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC).

he survived a coup attempt.He founded Alliance for Patriotic Reorientationand Construction as his political party and was elected as president in September 1996. He was re-elected in presidential elections for his second, third and fourth tenures on 18 October 2001, 22 September 2006, November 2011.Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, he sentenced pro-democracy opposition members including leader Ousainou Darboe to three years imprisonment for staging protests.While calling them"opportunistic people supported by the West,"he said that"I will bow to only Allah and my mother. I will never tolerate opposition to destabilize this country."Meanwhile, the United States of America hasadvised Gambia PresidentJammeh not to prolong his tenure as leader of the West African country.