Gambian president-elect Adama Barrow was to take power yesterday, capping weeks of tension over President Yahya Jammeh’s refusal to quit, which has seen Senegalese and Nigerian troops massing at the border, and tourists racing to leave.
The UN Security Council was to vote on a Senegalese draft resolution that would back efforts by west African regional bloc Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) to ensure Jammeh hands over power to his successor, diplomats said.
With Senegalese troops backed by Nigerian forces and fighter jets gathering, the country appeared on the brink of a military crisis, although Gambian army chief Ousman Badjie said that his soldiers would not get involved in a “political dispute,” nor prevent foreign forces from entering the Gambia.
Photo: AFP
Despite a midnight deadline for the expiry of Jammeh’s term, the situation remained calm in the city overnight, witnesses said following a last-minute mediation attempt by the Mauritanian president.
Jammeh, who has ruled the former British colony for 22 years, initially acknowledged Barrow as the victor in last month’s elections, but later rejected the result, this week declaring a national state of emergency.
With the country in deadlock, hundreds of tourists were rushing to leave after Britain and the Netherlands issued travel warnings, with the small airport near Banjul struggling to handle the influx.
Although Barrow is in Senegal until he can cross the border safely, officials insisted his inauguration would go ahead, but there were no immediate details.
Gambia’s president-elect yesterday said he was to be sworn into office at the Gambian embassy in Senegal.
The Facebook and Twitter accounts for Adama Barrow, run by his staff, said his inauguration would take place at 4pm in Dakar.
Speaking to reporters by telephone, senior coalition official Isatou Touray said her team in Banjul had still not been told where the inauguration would take place or at what time, but was adamant it would go ahead.
She welcomed a declaration by Badjie that his troops would not prevent Jammeh’s removal by force.
“That’s a very positive outlook from him, given that Jammeh’s regime is done,” Touray said. “We don’t have to risks the lives of innocent citizens.”
In remarks at a hotel restaurant late on Wednesday, Badjie said he loved his men and would not risk their lives in a “stupid fight,” eyewitnesses said.
Mai Fatty, a spokesman for Barrow’s opposition coalition, said on Facebook that anyone carrying weapons on the streets “shall face definite consequences, to their peril.”
Soldiers and police would “certainly become a legitimate target” if they stood in the way of the new government, Fatty said.
Despite the buildup along the border, an army source told reporters that Senegalese troops were “not yet” present on Gambian soil.
After 11th-hour talks in Banjul, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel flew on to Dakar where he met with Barrow for talks at which Senegalese President Macky Sall was also present, the private RFM radio station reported.
The Gambia was a diplomatic ally of Taiwan until Jammeh cut ties with Taipei on Nov. 14, 2013.
Additional reporting by Reuters, AP and staff writer
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