A midnight deadline has passed in Gambia, leaving the African country in flux with two presidents and West African troops massed on the border.
Outgoing President Yahya Jammeh has refused to step down since losing the December election to rival Adama Barrow, who was due to take power on Thursday.
Troops from several West African countries were ready to enter Gambia if Jammeh didn’t step aside by midnight, Colonel Seydou Maiga Moro with the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) told Senegal’s state media.
“All the troops are already on site,” Moro said. “If no solution has been reached by midnight, we will take action.”
Hours after the deadline passed, it was unclear whether they’d made good on the pledge.
Jammeh has held power in Gambia since a military coup in 1994 until a surprise loss in the December 1 vote, where his opponent won 45% of the vote.
Tourists flee as troops prepare
Hundreds of tourists poured out of Gambia on Wednesday as the risk of violence grew.
In a statement on its website, tour operator Thomas Cook said it was “working hard to get our UK customers home,” and expected to fly about 3,500 holidaymakers out of Gambia by the end of Friday.
The UK Foreign Office also updated its advice to travelers, cautioning against all but essential travel to Gambia.
“The potential for military intervention and civil disturbance is high and could result in Banjul International Airport being closed on short notice,” the site said.
Senegal, Ghana, Togo and Mali are among the countries who have contributed to the military effort, while the Nigerian Air Force said in a statement 200 Air Force troops would join ECOWAS forces.
“The deployment is also to forestall hostilities or breakdown of law and order that may result from the current political impasse in Gambia,” the statement said.
State of emergency declared
After his loss on December 1, Jammeh originally conceded defeat and said he would step down — but in just over a week, he changed his mind.
“I announce to you, Gambians, my total rejection of the election results and thereby annulling the elections in its entirety,” Jammeh said in a speech on December 9.
Since then, attempts by African leaders and the United States to convince Jammeh to leave have been unsuccessful.
On Tuesday, the outgoing president declared a state of emergency in the country, claiming “a situation exists which, if it is allowed to continue, may lead to a state of public emergency.”
Speaking in a televised statement, Jammeh also claimed he had filed an application with Gambia’s Supreme Court to prevent Barrow being sworn in.
Barrow is currently waiting in neighboring Senegal for the transition of power.
The President-elect’s office insisted in a statement last week that the election result stands.
