Big welcome for coalition troops

GAMBIA: Gambia’s elite republican guard was ordered to disarm yesterday ‘‘to avoid an emerging conflict’’ as foreign troops rolled into the capital.

A soldier at State House in Banjul said he and his comrades had surrendered their weapons at the palace armoury less than 48 hours after YahyaJammeh, the ousted president, was forced into exile by the threat of an invasion. ‘‘Every soldier has to hand in their guns,’’ he said.

Columns of armoured vehicles reached the capital before sunset, where they were met with cheers and crowds dancing in the street.

HalifaSallah, a spokesman for Adama Barrow, Jammeh’s successor, said the soldiers from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), would collaborate with Gambia’s armed forces. Fighter jets had earlier roared over the capital in a show of force.

Hundreds of people had gathered at Banjul airport to witness Jammeh’s departure. Some cheered as his plane took off, bound for Guinea – where he was expected to stop over before travelling on, possibly to Equatorial Guinea – while others sobbed and wailed.

The former army officer seized power in a bloodless coup in 1994. He triggered a military showdown with Ecowas after he rejected the results of the December 1 election, which Barrow won with 45 per cent of the vote.

The Ecowas soldiers said that they had advanced on the capital to protect and install Barrow as president. He was still abroad and had yet to appoint a cabinet. Diplomats said their advance signalled legitimate fears that Jammeh may have left ‘‘some tricks’’ in his wake. ‘‘I can understand why they would be concerned because of who Jammeh was,’’ one said. ‘‘[Ecowas] will be sweeping key areas to make sure there aren’t any surprises.’’

General OusmanBadjie, head of Gambia’s armed forces, had earlier said his soldiers would not fight if the Ecowas troops advanced. He joined the celebrations in the street.

Barrow, who used to work as a security guard at an Argos catalogue store in London, is the leader of a coalition which seemed split yesterday over the terms which Jammeh had negotiated for his departure.

A joint communique from Ecowas, the African Union and the United Nations said Jammeh and his family would be afforded the privileges befitting a former president, allowed to keep his lawfully acquired assets and spared any ‘‘harassment or witch-hunting’’. However, MankeurNdiaye, Senegal’s foreign minister, said the deal was not binding.– The Times