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| Senegal troops poised at the Gambia border as Jammeh mandate ends | Senegal troops poised at the Gambia border as Jammeh mandate ends |
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| Senegalese troops backed by other African forces are poised to enter the Gambia on Thursday after last-ditch diplomatic efforts to persuade the long-time president, Yahya Jammeh, to stand down appear to have failed. | Senegalese troops backed by other African forces are poised to enter the Gambia on Thursday after last-ditch diplomatic efforts to persuade the long-time president, Yahya Jammeh, to stand down appear to have failed. |
| Jammeh’s mandate ended at midnight but he has steadfastly refused to leave office after losing elections last month to Adama Barrow, prompting west African states to ramp up pressure on the president. The Gambia has been in a state of political uncertainty since Jammeh refused to cede power, using the courts and parliament to try to extend his 22-year rule. | Jammeh’s mandate ended at midnight but he has steadfastly refused to leave office after losing elections last month to Adama Barrow, prompting west African states to ramp up pressure on the president. The Gambia has been in a state of political uncertainty since Jammeh refused to cede power, using the courts and parliament to try to extend his 22-year rule. |
| On Tuesday Jammeh had announced a national state of emergency, prompting the UK Foreign Office to change its travel advice and warn against all but essential travel to the Gambia. | On Tuesday Jammeh had announced a national state of emergency, prompting the UK Foreign Office to change its travel advice and warn against all but essential travel to the Gambia. |
| Witnesses said the situation was calm in the capital, Banjul, overnight, although troops had been deployed in the city. | Witnesses said the situation was calm in the capital, Banjul, overnight, although troops had been deployed in the city. |
| Fears of violence have prompted tens of thousands of people, many of them children, to flee the Gambia through its land borders. As tourists were evacuated amid scenes of chaos at Banjul airport on Wednesday, Col Abdou Ndiaye, a spokesman for the Senegalese army, said troops were at the Gambian border and would enter the country at midnight if the deadline for a transfer of power passed. “We are ready,” he told Reuters. “If no political solution is found, we will step in.” | Fears of violence have prompted tens of thousands of people, many of them children, to flee the Gambia through its land borders. As tourists were evacuated amid scenes of chaos at Banjul airport on Wednesday, Col Abdou Ndiaye, a spokesman for the Senegalese army, said troops were at the Gambian border and would enter the country at midnight if the deadline for a transfer of power passed. “We are ready,” he told Reuters. “If no political solution is found, we will step in.” |
| Soldiers from Nigeria, Mali, Togo, Ghana and Senegal make up the regional force, but it is being headed by a Senegalese general and has the backing of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), which has repeatedly called on Jammeh to stand down. | Soldiers from Nigeria, Mali, Togo, Ghana and Senegal make up the regional force, but it is being headed by a Senegalese general and has the backing of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), which has repeatedly called on Jammeh to stand down. |
| Jammeh’s army chief said late on Wednesday his troops would not fight their entry into the country. “We are not going to involve ourselves militarily. This is a political dispute,” the chief of defence staff, Ousman Badjie, said after eating dinner in a tourist district close to Banjul, eyewitnesses told Agence France-Presse. | Jammeh’s army chief said late on Wednesday his troops would not fight their entry into the country. “We are not going to involve ourselves militarily. This is a political dispute,” the chief of defence staff, Ousman Badjie, said after eating dinner in a tourist district close to Banjul, eyewitnesses told Agence France-Presse. |
| “I am not going to involve my soldiers in a stupid fight. I love my men,” he added. “If they [the Senegalese] come in, we are here like this,” Badjie said, putting his hands up in a surrender gesture. | “I am not going to involve my soldiers in a stupid fight. I love my men,” he added. “If they [the Senegalese] come in, we are here like this,” Badjie said, putting his hands up in a surrender gesture. |
| In a last-ditch attempt to persuade Jammeh to accept a deal and leave the country, the president of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, flew in to Banjul on Wednesday. Members of the opposition remained hopeful that Jammeh would go peacefully with Abdel Aziz rather than face war. “He’s been calling [Ecowas’s] bluff but I don’t think he wants to die,” said James Gomez, a senior member of the coalition that is poised to govern the country. | In a last-ditch attempt to persuade Jammeh to accept a deal and leave the country, the president of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, flew in to Banjul on Wednesday. Members of the opposition remained hopeful that Jammeh would go peacefully with Abdel Aziz rather than face war. “He’s been calling [Ecowas’s] bluff but I don’t think he wants to die,” said James Gomez, a senior member of the coalition that is poised to govern the country. |
| However Abdel Aziz later left the talks and did not take Jammeh with him. | However Abdel Aziz later left the talks and did not take Jammeh with him. |
| In a further blow to Jammeh, his long serving vice-president, Isatou Njie Saidy, who has been in the role since 1997, has quit, a family member told Reuters. | |
| Social media accounts run by Barrow’s staff said he would be sworn in at the Gambian embassy in Senegal’s capital at 4pm on Thursday, and not at the Gambia’s national stadium as planned | |
| Speaking earlier, Gomez said: “We cannot risk bringing people to the stadium. It’s not in our hands; it’s in Ecowas’s hands. They want us to follow the constitution, which states that the president’s term ends at midnight.” | |
| The UN security council is scheduled to meet on Thursday to adopt a statement on west Africa that will reaffirm the demand for Jammeh to hand over power, diplomats said. | The UN security council is scheduled to meet on Thursday to adopt a statement on west Africa that will reaffirm the demand for Jammeh to hand over power, diplomats said. |