Sanna Manjang, a former lieutenant colonel who led the Junglers — a feared paramilitary death squad that carried out extrajudicial killings under ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh — appeared before a military court in Banjul, Gambia, on Monday to face charges of desertion. Manjang is accused of abandoning the armed forces around January 21, 2017, the same day Jammeh fled the country after refusing to accept his election defeat, and of remaining absent for nine years. Separate murder charges against him, including the killing of veteran AFP journalist Deyda Hydara, were temporarily dropped in July to allow prosecutors to address witness complications, but are expected to be refiled, making Monday's court martial a significant step in Gambia's broader effort to achieve accountability for abuses committed during Jammeh's two-decade rule.