Gambia’s Jammeh clings on as tourists flee

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh looked determined to cling to power yesterday as his mandate came to an end, while tourists packed onto planes in an exodus sparked by the country’s state of emergency. Jammeh said Tuesday the emergency measure was necessary due to interference of foreign powers in the country’s Dec 1 election, which the president of 22 years lost to opponent Adama Barrow. Barrow, who is currently sheltering in neighboring Senegal, maintains his inauguration will go ahead today on Gambian soil, putting the country on a collision course.

Jammeh’s declaration immediately triggered travel advisory warnings by Britain and the Netherlands, with around 1,000 British tourists expected to leave on special flights on Wednesday alone. “It’s because of the uncertainty and the likelihood an ECOWAS standby force will have to be deployed,” a diplomatic source said. The 15-nation Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) has repeatedly urged Jammeh to respect the outcome of the vote and step aside, a call backed by the UN Security Council, African Union and others.

In Washington, the US State Department urged Jammeh to “peacefully hand over power” to Barrow, but a military option is becoming more likely by the hour. A source at Nigeria’s military HQ said a deployment to Senegal, whose territory surrounds The Gambia, would happen “very soon.” Under the Gambian constitution a state of emergency lasts up to 90 days if the national assembly confirms it-which the legislature did late Tuesday.

Brian and Yvonne Souch, a couple from Witney in southern England, said they were unaware of the potential risk of flying to the country 10 days ago and felt tour company Thomas Cook should have kept them better informed. “We didn’t know anything until we came down for breakfast,” Brian Souch said, sitting in shorts and sleeveless T-shirt in the lobby of a hotel in the Kololi tourist strip.—AFP