Gambia's justice minister, Aboubacarr Tambadou says authorities have recognized four bodies disinterred last year to shed light on the circumstances of their demises and allow their families to hold suitable burials.

Tambadou said on Monday that preliminary results identified the remains as those of activist Solo Sandeng as well as three people allegedly killed during a shootout after a 2014 attempt to overthrow then President Yahya Jammeh.

Sandeng led a protest march in April 2016 met by a police crackdown that saw the arrests of dozens of people and subsequently Sandeng's death.

Jammeh's rule was marked by arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

Current President Adama Barrow was elected in December 2016 and has vowed to make sure justice prevails for past abuses.