Gambia’s former president has fled into exile in Equatorial Guinea after stepping down following mounting pressure from West African nations to accept defeat after losing in December election to newly sworn in President Adama Barrow.
His exit has ended the rising tension as thousands of troops from Senegal and Nigeria, who entered into the tiny country on Thursday, were poised to swoop on the capital Banjul.
There presence in Banjul will also paves the way for the return home of Barrow, who was sworn in as leader at the Gambian embassy in Senegal on Thursday.
Jammeh took power in a coup in 1994, and his government is accused of torturing and killing perceived opponents. There were few celebrations in Banjul as news of his departure spread, but some people said they felt relief after years of fear.
“The rule of fear has been banished from Gambia for good,” Barrow told a crowd at a Dakar hotel on Friday, once it became clear a deal had been struck for Jammeh to relinquish power, Reuters said.
“To all of you forced by political circumstances to flee our country, you now have the liberty to return home,” said Barrow, 51, who worked as a property developer and led an opposition coalition few thought would win the Dec. 1 vote.
The initiative to force Jammeh out will likely be viewed as a triumph for African diplomacy and could set a precedent in a region where democracy advocates have spent decades pressing for fair elections and an end to authoritarian regimes.
Jammeh’s security forces offered no resistance to soldiers from West African bloc ECOWAS. Around 4,000 troops are still there and some will remain to ensure security, said Marcel de Souza, head of the ECOWAS commission.
The crisis was a test for the bloc, not least because Jammeh had held office longer than any other current president in the grouping of 15 states.
“If something like that (not accepting poll results) happens in the same way in another ECOWAS country, it will be the same treatment,” de Souza told a news conference in the Senegalese capital Dakar.
Unseated president Yahya Jammeh previously risking intervention from neighbouring states when he refused to hand over power to his successor, Adama Barrow.
Former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh boards a plane at the airport as he flees into exile
The new president, a former Argos worker from north London, was sworn in on Thursday despite his predecessor once pledging to rule the West African country for a billion years.
Soldiers from neighbouring Senegal and Nigeria stormed into the tiny state on Thursday poised to swoop on the capital Banjul to ensure Barrow would take office when former President Jammeh, who has ruled Gambia since 1994, refused to leave.
Jammeh had ruled the tiny country since 1994 and had pledged to rule The Gambia for a billion years
A security officer of former president cries as he arrives at the airport before flying into exile from Gambia
But now the former leader has left The Gambia stopping the country descending into civil war – prompting celebrations on the streets.
Jammeh was accompanied onto the plane by Guinean President Alpha Conde, who mediated the terms of his exit with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and others.
A separate plane took his family and aides.
People in Gambia were pictured dancing in the streets after hearing that the former president had left the country
A driver celebrates after former leader Yahya Jammeh boarded a plane leaving the country he had ruled for 22 years
There had been a poltiical crisis when Jammeh refused to step down and hand power to newly-elected Adama Barrow
It comes as flights to the UK from the crisis-stricken country have been suspended by British tour operators, the Foreign Office said.
All package holiday tourists have now left the country, Thomas Cook confirmed,but the tour operator said those with flight-only bookings could be left stranded – as flights to the region have been suspended.
Coalition soldiers patrol the main street of Karang, Senegal, near the border with The Gambia. Former president Yahya Jammeh had said he would step down after 22 years of power to keep peace in his country or face a military intervention
Holidaymakers were forced into a chaotic exodus earlier this week as the country teetered on the brink of military conflict following post-election unrest.
Credit: Reuters and Mail Online.
Gambia’s former president has fled into exile in Equatorial Guinea after stepping down following mounting pressure from West African nations to accept defeat after losing in December election to newly sworn in President Adama Barrow.
His exit has ended the rising tension as thousands of troops from Senegal and Nigeria, who entered into the tiny country on Thursday, were poised to swoop on the capital Banjul.
There presence in Banjul will also paves the way for the return home of Barrow, who was sworn in as leader at the Gambian embassy in Senegal on Thursday.
Jammeh took power in a coup in 1994, and his government is accused of torturing and killing perceived opponents. There were few celebrations in Banjul as news of his departure spread, but some people said they felt relief after years of fear.
“The rule of fear has been banished from Gambia for good,” Barrow told a crowd at a Dakar hotel on Friday, once it became clear a deal had been struck for Jammeh to relinquish power, Reuters said.
“To all of you forced by political circumstances to flee our country, you now have the liberty to return home,” said Barrow, 51, who worked as a property developer and led an opposition coalition few thought would win the Dec. 1 vote.
The initiative to force Jammeh out will likely be viewed as a triumph for African diplomacy and could set a precedent in a region where democracy advocates have spent decades pressing for fair elections and an end to authoritarian regimes.
Jammeh’s security forces offered no resistance to soldiers from West African bloc ECOWAS. Around 4,000 troops are still there and some will remain to ensure security, said Marcel de Souza, head of the ECOWAS commission.
The crisis was a test for the bloc, not least because Jammeh had held office longer than any other current president in the grouping of 15 states.
“If something like that (not accepting poll results) happens in the same way in another ECOWAS country, it will be the same treatment,” de Souza told a news conference in the Senegalese capital Dakar.
Unseated president Yahya Jammeh previously risking intervention from neighbouring states when he refused to hand over power to his successor, Adama Barrow.
Former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh boards a plane at the airport as he flees into exile
The new president, a former Argos worker from north London, was sworn in on Thursday despite his predecessor once pledging to rule the West African country for a billion years.
Soldiers from neighbouring Senegal and Nigeria stormed into the tiny state on Thursday poised to swoop on the capital Banjul to ensure Barrow would take office when former President Jammeh, who has ruled Gambia since 1994, refused to leave.
Jammeh had ruled the tiny country since 1994 and had pledged to rule The Gambia for a billion years
A security officer of former president cries as he arrives at the airport before flying into exile from Gambia
But now the former leader has left The Gambia stopping the country descending into civil war – prompting celebrations on the streets.
Jammeh was accompanied onto the plane by Guinean President Alpha Conde, who mediated the terms of his exit with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and others.
A separate plane took his family and aides.
People in Gambia were pictured dancing in the streets after hearing that the former president had left the country
A driver celebrates after former leader Yahya Jammeh boarded a plane leaving the country he had ruled for 22 years
There had been a poltiical crisis when Jammeh refused to step down and hand power to newly-elected Adama Barrow
It comes as flights to the UK from the crisis-stricken country have been suspended by British tour operators, the Foreign Office said.
All package holiday tourists have now left the country, Thomas Cook confirmed,but the tour operator said those with flight-only bookings could be left stranded – as flights to the region have been suspended.
Coalition soldiers patrol the main street of Karang, Senegal, near the border with The Gambia. Former president Yahya Jammeh had said he would step down after 22 years of power to keep peace in his country or face a military intervention
Holidaymakers were forced into a chaotic exodus earlier this week as the country teetered on the brink of military conflict following post-election unrest.
Credit: Reuters and Mail Online.
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