Rights group Amnesty International says nine people have been executed in Gambia, several days after the country's president said all death row prisoners would be killed.
In a statement Friday, Amnesty said that according to “reliable sources,” nine people — including a woman — were removed from their prison cells Thursday night and executed.
There has been no confirmation from Gambian officials.
In a televised address earlier this week, President Yahya Jammeh announced that all existing death sentences would be carried out by mid-September.
Amnesty says there are 47 people currently on death row in Gambia.
The rights group is calling for President Jammeh to establish an immediate moratorium on the death penalty.