BANJUL, Gambia: Veteran Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh was Friday facing a midday deadline to quit power, after thousands of regional troops entered the country to pile pressure on him to hand power to the winner of last month\u2019s presidential election.
\nSoldiers from Senegal and four other west African countries crossed the border on Friday to bolster new President Adama Barrow, who was sworn in at The Gambia\u2019s embassy in Dakar.
\nammeh has rejected Barrow\u2019s election win, despite significant pressure from regional powers and the UN, sparking a major crisis and sending tourists — vital for the tiny country\u2019s economy — fleeing.
\nThe military operation was suspended to allow a final diplomatic push to convince Jammeh, who has ruled the former British colony since seizing power in a 1994 coup, to leave the country.
\n“We have suspended operations and given him an ultimatum,” said Marcel Alain de Souza, head of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
\n“If by midday, he doesn\u2019t agree to leave The Gambia… we really will intervene militarily,” he added.
\nFinal talks will be led by Guinean President Alpha Conde in the Gambian capital Banjul on Friday morning, he said.
\nConde will first travel to Mauritania where he will meet President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who led the previous round of negotiations with Jammeh on Wednesday.
\nA diplomat in Banjul told: “It\u2019s last chance saloon for Jammeh.”
\nDe Souza said a total of 7,000 troops would be mobilised by Senegal and four other nations.
\nIn a further sign of Jammeh\u2019s weakening position, The Gambia\u2019s army chief Ousman Badjie was spotted among crowds celebrating after Barrow was inaugurated.
\nBadjie said he would not order his men to fight the African troops poised to intervene.
\nWashington earlier praised the West African intervention, while the UN Security Council unanimously backed ECOWAS efforts to force Jammeh to quit, without formally authorising military action.
\n“We understand that the purpose is to help stabilise a tense situation and to try to observe the will of the people in The Gambia,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
\nDressed all in white, 51-year-old Barrow waved to a crowd of thousands of jubilant Gambians during his inauguration, which officially ended Jammeh\u2019s 22-year rule.
\n“This is a victory of the Gambian nation. Our flag will now fly high among those of the most-democratic nations of the world,” he said, demanding loyalty from his armed forces.
\nOn the ground, troops including “land, air and sea” forces crossed into The Gambia, a Senegalese army officer told Media, indicating that Nigeria, Ghana, Togo and Mali were also involved.
\nA Senegalese army spokesman confirmed his country\u2019s troops had crossed the border, after Nigerian jets earlier flew over The Gambia to help force out Jammeh, whose mandate expired at midnight Wednesday.
\nBarrow\u2019s victory in the December 1 election came as a surprise and initially Jammeh conceded defeat, before performing a U-turn and challenging the result in the courts.
\nOn Friday night, calls of congratulations flooded in for the new president, including from the UN secretary general and Britain.
\nBarrow, a real-estate agent turned politician, had flown into Senegal on January 15 to seek shelter after weeks of rising tension over Jammeh\u2019s stance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BANJUL, Gambia: Veteran Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh was Friday facing a midday deadline to quit power, after thousands of regional troops entered the country to pile pressure on him to hand power to the winner of last month\u2019s presidential election. Soldiers from Senegal and four other west African countries crossed the border on Friday to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10498","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n