Former U.S. Army sergeant pleads guilty to failed coup attempt in Gambia

SAINT PAUL, Minn., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A former U.S. Army sergeant entered a guilty plea Thursday for his role in a failed coup attempt in The Gambia.

Papa Faal, a dual U.S.-Gambian citizen, appeared in a Minnesota courtroom on Thursday where he admitted to trying to overthrow Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.

Faal said he was recruited in August and given money to buy eight semi-automatic rifles that he concealed in 50-gallon drums and shipped to The Gambia. He traveled to The Gambia in December, where met other members of the group. The plan was to overtake the State House, the president's official residence, while Jammeh was out of the country.

The attempted coup was launched Dec. 30 against the president, who himself seized power in a 1994 coup and has said he plans to rule the country for "a billion years."

"The intent was not to kill anybody" unless fired upon, Faal told the court, but acknowledged "we were surprised by the fact that we had more resistance than anticipated."

Gambian forces repelled the attack and Faal fled to neighboring Senegal where he turned himself in to the U.S. embassy.

Faal's account of hoping to restore democracy to The Gambia by removing the president and doing so without loss of life reflected the account in his arrest affidavit.

U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery told Faal on Thursday that federal sentencing guidelines call for a jail term of 51 to 63 months, and a fine that could range from $10,000 to $100,000.

A conspirator, Cherno Njie of Austin, has been accused of leading and financing the coup attempt. Njie will be also be tried in Minneapolis.