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The Gambia crisis: Yahya Jammeh says he will step down | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The Gambia's long-term leader Yahya Jammeh says he will step down, after refusing to accept defeat in elections. | |
In an announcement on state TV, he said it was "not necessary that a single drop of blood be shed". | |
The statement followed hours of talks between Mr Jammeh and West African mediators. He gave no details of what deal might have been struck. | |
Mr Jammeh was defeated in December's election and his successor as president Adama Barrow has been inaugurated. | |
Mr Barrow has been in neighbouring Senegal for days. | |
Troops from several West African nations, including neighbouring Senegal, have been deployed in The Gambia, threatening to drive Mr Jammeh out of office if he did not agree to go. | |
Mr Jammeh's decision to quit came after talks with the presidents of Guinea and Mauritania. | |
"I have decided today in good conscience to relinquish the mantle of leadership of this great nation with infinite gratitude to all Gambians," he said. | |
Shortly before the TV address, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said that a deal had been struck and that Mr Jammeh would leave the country. He gave no further details. | |
Mr Jammeh was given an ultimatum to leave office or be forced out by UN-backed troops, which expired at 16:00 GMT on Friday. | |
The deadline was set by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), a regional grouping backed by the United Nations. | |
The first signs of a breakthrough came on Friday when a senior aide to the new president told the BBC's Umaru Fofana that Mr Jammeh had agreed to step down. |