Gambia’s new leader says defeated foe will step aside

BANJUL, Gambia — Gambia’s new president declared late Friday that “the rule of fear” had ended, while word emerged that longtime leader Yahya Jammeh was finally stepping aside under the threat of a regional military offensive.

In neighboring Senegal, where Adama Barrow sought refuge after winning last month’s presidential election, a government official confirmed that Jammeh had agreed to leave. But at the airport in Gambia’s capital, Banjul, officials rolled up the red carpet leading to the plane that had signaled a possible departure.

Jammeh has refused to accept his loss to Barrow, who was inaugurated Thursday at Gambia’s embassy in Senegal.

The leaders of Guinea and Mauritania met with Jammeh on Friday to try to persuade him to cede power.

The Senegalese government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to talk to reporters, said final arrangements for the agreement with Jammeh were still being worked out.

Jammeh, who first seized power in a 1994 coup, has offered to step aside once before during the current crisis — only to change his mind later.

He has been holed up in his official residence in Banjul. He has been becoming increasingly isolated as his security forces abandon him. He also dissolved his Cabinet.

Defense forces chief Ousmane Badjie said Gambia’s security services now support Barrow and would not oppose the regional force that was poised to move against Jammeh if he refused to step down.

“You cannot push us to war for an issue we can solve politically,” Badjie said. “We don’t see any reason to fight.”