Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – A government survey team, backed by officers of the Police Intervention Unit (PIU), was forced to abandon a land demarcation exercise in Berending on September 3rd after villagers staged a protest, blocking officials from placing boundary markers.

The team managed to install only five pegs before angry residents confronted them, chanting against what they described as “land grabbing.” In response, officials removed all pegs and returned to Brikama, leaving the exercise incomplete.

The aborted operation has reignited decades-old tensions over land ownership in the West Coast Region, particularly among the communities of Berending, Gunjur, and Kartong. The dispute dates back to the 1980s but has resurfaced after the government announced plans to mark boundaries between Gunjur and Berending.

In recent weeks, both Gunjur and Berending have held press conferences defending their territorial claims, raising fears of potential conflict. Kartong has also expressed concern, warning that the demarcation could result in the loss of its ancestral land.

Community members from Kartong argue that the exercise should not have been launched without prior consultations involving all three settlements. They insist that Berending’s expansion encroaches on their land.

The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP–The Gambia) has stepped in to calm tensions, urging the communities to resolve their differences through dialogue. The group has initiated mediation efforts, legal research, and community discussions while calling on the government to implement past recommendations on the dispute.

Despite these efforts, the latest setback underscores the volatility of land ownership conflicts in the region and the urgent need for inclusive and lasting solutions before tensions escalate further.