Gambia surrounded on all three fronts
Nigeria, Ghana join Senegal as they commit troops to expel Jammeh
WEST African troops are gathered at Senegal’s border with Gambia, poised to intervene to ensure president-elect Adama Barrow takes power as the UN Security Council prepared to vote on a resolution authorising a military operation.
Barrow had said on Twitter that he would be sworn in at the Gambian embassy in Senegal at 4 pm yesterday.
Nigeria and Ghana committed troops and aircraft to join forces from Senegal, which surrounds Gambia on three sides.
The UN Security Council was scheduled to vote yesterday on a resolution that would authorise the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to use all necessary means to enforce the outcome of last month’s elections in which Barrow defeated Yahya Jammeh.
Jammeh, who has been in office since 1994 and once vowed to rule for a billion years, surprised the nation of fewer than 2million by acknowledging he lost the vote, before changing his mind and casting doubt over the results.
“If Ecowas does not intervene, its ability to maintain political order among its member countries would lose credibility,” said Adeline van Houtte, Africa analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “And if Mr Jammeh manages to cling to power, it would also damage the credibility of... democratic elections in the region.”
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz flew between the capitals of Gambia and Senegal in the early morning, meeting in Dakar with Barrow and Senegalese President Macky Sall before leaving again.
Thousands of Gambians have fled to Senegal, piling their belongings on taxis crossing the border, with the Senegalese government estimating that almost 30 000 people had arrived.
Travel company Thomas Cook said it was flying back about 1 000 UK customers. Gambia depends on tourists from the UK, Germany and the Netherlands for most of its revenue. The regional states decided to take the action after Jammeh, 51, declared a 90-day state of emergency late on Tuesday. The AU has said it would no longer recognise Jammeh as president.
“The regional body Ecowas has reiterated its determination to take all necessary measures to ensure the transfer of power to president-elect Barrow,” said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, asserting the UN’s support.
The Nigerian Air Force said on its Facebook page that it’s deploying 200 men, fighter jets, transport aircraft and a helicopter to Senegal for the operation.
Ghana sent more than 200 troops to bolster the intervention force, presidential spokesperson Eugene Arhin said.
Gambia’s military is estimated to have 1 425 men in its army, navy and gendarmerie combined, according to the web portal DefenceWeb.
The US embassy closed all non-emergency services on Wednesday.
Ecowas previously sent 600 troops to Guinea-Bissau following a coup in April 2012. The soldiers are due to be withdrawn this year.
The regional group also sent soldiers to Ivory Coast in 2002, when a failed coup split the country into a rebel north and a government-run south.
The troops were deployed to patrol the dividing line between the warring parties and were later redeployed as UN troops. – Washington Post
YOUR article, “Firefighting heroes being overworked” (January 19), refers:
It is unfortunate that claims were published without affording the City’s Fire and Rescue Service the opportunity to respond directly.
So please allow us this opportunity to set the record straight.
Yes, the reality is that firefighters are assigned 24-hour shifts.
We have communicated this on numerous occasions when outlining our readiness for the warmer summer months when there is an increase in the number of wild fires.
Staff are given sufficient recovery periods after their shifts are completed.
Fire-ground hours can be anything from a few minutes to a few hours.
However, if they are working for long periods at fire scenes, rehabilitation and relief periods are provided where possible.
After each 24-hour period on duty at their stations, they have a period of off-duty time which ranges from 24 to 96 hours, in which they can recover.
The last few weeks have been exceptionally busy for fire-fighting staff, including management and seniors as they were called on to do their duty of protecting life and property.
Unfortunately, the job requires working long hours under trying conditions which is why the public and the city are so immensely grateful and appreciative of the efforts of firefighters.
It is also worth noting that a 24-hour shift doesn’t translate into time on the front lines all year round.
In fact, for the largest part of the year, staff have a lot of downtime and opportunity for personal and professional development.
Our firefighters work extremely hard and we applaud their efforts.
Headlines like these are counter-productive and cast the service in a negative light when in fact the Fire and Rescue Service should be lauded for the manner in which they conduct themselves.
I’d also appeal to staff who have concerns or grievances to use the appropriate city channels and processes to register such concerns.
Few people have more appreciation for their valuable contribution, which is why I have championed the cause of the Fire and Rescue Service relentlessly over the last decade and will continue to do so.
We continue to strive to add more resources and budget every year and during the last decade the Fire and Rescue Service has seen very significant and sustained investment, although we well know that we need to continue growing our capacity.