... The Gambia is actually surrounded by The Senegal on all sides but its west coast. It has a population of about 1.7 million. The difference between the two is that in colonial days Senegal was ruled by La Belle France and The Gambia (so-called because there's only one of it, unlike Guinea, of which there are the Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, New Guinea, the English coin in circulation between 1663 and 1813, and Guyana, which sounds like it should be another one) was ruled by Britain...
has formally blocked flights returning
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing.... Banjul argues that the country cannot reintegrate them.
Being the smallest country on mainland Africa, Gambia has a long tradition of migration.
An estimated 118,000 Gambians live abroad, according to the International Organisation for Migration, who send home remittances worth over 20 percent of the country's GDP.
However,
there's more than one way to skin a cat...
this week's announcement that the government aims to block flights of returning
The Banjul administration says it will block all flights returning
Gambian foreign ministry front man Saikou Ceesay says that the government decreed the policy last June, explaining thon the lam numbers of returning
He maintains: "We are trying to consolidate the peace, stability and democracy we have in this country."
The Gambia was ruled by
The first Gambian presidential election of the post-Jammeh era is due to be held on 4 December.
EU FRUSTRATION WITH GAMBIA
Meanwhile a European diplomat, who declined to be named, described The Gambia's move to block migrant returns as "a political issue" motivated by the upcoming election.
European governments have previously complained that The Gambia has never fully cooperated on returns.
The West African country signed a non-binding agreement on returns with the EU in 2018 has reportedly "never fully respected".
The European Council is due to examine a proposal which would tighten access to EU visas for Gambians, for example, over the country's "failure to cooperate on readmission".