Within two hours the soldiers had seized more than 100 people. Simultaneously across Gambia another 1,200 suspected witches, both men and women, were rounded up. Shaking with fear, they were taken to secret government detention centres.
Here their nightmare really began. In the name of Yahya Jammeh, Gambia's dictator, they had been singled out for exorcism. Accused of being witches, they were blamed for the death of the president's beloved aunt. By nightfall at least six had died after they were forced to drink a mysterious potion. Those who survived the foul concoction spent the following days racked with pain. Some claimed to have bled from their eyeballs.
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