Barrow says he’ll take power

The Gambia’s president-elect, Adama Barrow, was set to be inaugurated on Thursday, capping weeks of tension over Yahya Jammeh’s refusal to quit.

The country appeared on the brink of a military crisis although the army chief insisted his soldiers would not get involved in a “political dispute” nor prevent foreign forces from entering the Gambia.

Senegalese and other troops have gathered at the border. Tourists are leaving the country and reported that tens of thousands of citizens have fled.

Barrow has taken refuge in Senegal and insisted his inauguration would go ahead. He announced that he was sending 205 soldiers as part of a regional force to enforce the result of the country’s disputed election.

On January 18, Chief of Defence Staff Ousman Badjie said he loved his men and wouldn’t risk their lives in a “stupid fight”.

“If they [Senegalese] come in, we are here like this,” Badjie said, making a hands-up-tosurrender gesture.

Mai Fatty, a spokesperson for Barrow’s opposition coalition, said soldiers and police would “certainly become a legitimate target” if they stood in the way of the new government.

After 11th-hour talks in Banjul, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel flew on to Dakar where he met Barrow for talks at which Senegal’s President Macky Sall was also present, the private RFM radio station reported.

It was not clear whether the Mauritanian leader had secured a deal or made an asylum offer to Jammeh.

The last-minute intervention by Mauritania came after several unsuccessful attempts at diplomacy by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).

Although Barrow and his team have said the inauguration will go ahead on Gambian soil, the inauguration’s head organiser, James Gomez, said plans for the ceremony to take place in a huge stadium outside the capital had been cancelled.

On Tuesday, Jammeh announced a state of emergency in reaction to what he said was foreign interference in the December election.

Speaking to AFP at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Amnesty International chief Salil Shetty hailed Ecowas efforts to resolve the crisis.

“Ecowas has stood up and they don’t always do that,” he said. “It’s an important message to Jammeh, from the people of the Gambia, the people of Africa and from neighbouring states that it’s not business as usual any more.” — AFP