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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
(35 minutes later)
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. Yahya Jammeh, the Gambia’s long-time president, was holding out in the capital, Banjul, on Thursday after last-ditch diplomatic efforts to persuade him 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. The country has been in a state of political uncertainty since Jammeh refused to cede power to the winner of last month’s presidential election, 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. His mandate ended at midnight but he has steadfastly refused to hand over to Adama Barrow, prompting west African states to ramp up pressure on the president. A contingent of Senegalese-led troops is positioned on the border.
Witnesses said the situation was calm in the capital, Banjul, overnight, although troops had been deployed in the city. The Mauritanian president, Mohamed Abdul Aziz, flew into the country for some last-minute negotiations on Wednesday, but left without the Gambian president on board.
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.” The sun rose over an eerily quiet country on Thursday morning. No businesses were open. No Gambians were on their way to work and none of the usual groups of tourists, many of whom were leaving after the declaration of a state of emergency on Tuesday, were hailing taxis in the streets.
Fears of violence have prompted tens of thousands of people, many of them children, to flee the Gambia through its land borders.
Across the country, Gambians had waited to see what would happen on the stroke of midnight, when Jammeh’s 22 years in power officially came to an end. Hiding in their homes, many had spent the previous day stocking up on supplies and queuing at banks for cash. But midnight came and went.
Troops positioned over the border in Senegal, sent by five west African nations and poised for military intervention if regional diplomatic efforts failed, did not roll in.
The incoming president remained in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, where he was apparently preparing to be sworn-in.
“You are all welcome to my inauguration today 4pm at The Gambian embassy in Dakar,” read a post on a Twitter account for Barrow that his media officers said they were running. Senior members of the new ruling coalition had vowed that the inauguration would take place on Gambian soil.
You are all welcome to my inauguration today 4pm at The #Gambian embassy in #Dakar.
The swearing-in ceremony is set to be held two hours before the UN security council decides on a resolution by Senegal asking it to give its blessing to military intervention.
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, witnesses 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. The country’s vice president, Isatou Njie-Seedy, who has held her position since 1997, became the latest and the most senior in a long string of Jammeh’s ministers to resign, according to reports from Reuters.
However Abdel Aziz later left the talks and did not take Jammeh with him. Only security forces and protocol officers remain by Jammeh’s side, according to government sources.
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. Four young men selling “Gambia Has Decided” T-shirts were arrested, according to rights groups, and held incommunicado.
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.