Adama Barrow was sworn in Thursday as Gambia’s new President at the West African nation’s embassy in neighboring Senegal, but incumbent Yahya Jammeh has refused to step down.
Senegalese troops entered Gambian territory hours later in a bid to resolve the standoff, according to the state-run APS news agency.
Foreign diplomats had earlier attended the swearing-in ceremony in Dakar, which took place even as Jammeh continued to ignore pleas by African leaders and the United States urging a peaceful transition. Throngs of Barrow supporters took to the streets of Gambia in celebration.
Jammeh, who took power in a 1994 military coup, suffered a surprise defeat in elections in December, with Barrow winning 45% of the vote. He originally conceded, but then announced his “total rejection of the election results.”
Barrow has been waiting in Senegal — which surrounds Gambia — for the handover of power. In his first speech as leader, he hailed the “victory of the Gambian nation.”
“Our national flag will now fly high,” he said. “Violence is finished forever from the life of the Gambians. There is no loser in this election. We promise to unify our people. Today most Gambians are united in order to give Gambia a new start. Today I am the President of all Gambians.”
He pledged to “respect the rule of law and fundamental freedoms” and promised “significant democratic reform.”
And he called on the country’s military to remain loyal: “I command all members of the armed forces to remain in their barracks. Those found wanting, or in possession of firearms, without my order, shall be considered rebels.”
Barrow’s spokesman, Halifa Sallah, said the military “will have to decide which side they are on.”
“We will either head to a peaceful transition or are on the foot of war,” he told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
“We think the incumbent will realize that the international community does no longer recognize him. The whole army and security forces want peace. They will not shoot their own people.”
Troops massing on border
With the country in flux, thousands of Gambians are reported to have fled across the border, and tourists have been flown home on specially organized flights.
Troops from several West African countries had been poised to intervene if Jammeh insists on staying in the post. He faced a midnight deadline to step aside, but hours after it passed, soldiers remained massed on the border.
The UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution calling on Jammeh to step down.
Peter Wilson, the UK’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, noted the move sent a strong message that the outgoing President needs to transfer power peacefully.
“But it’s very clear that if President Barrow asks for assistance then that is something that as the legitimate President of Gambia he is perfectly entitled to do,” he said before the vote.
The resolution doesn’t specifically authorize West African nations to intervene militarily if Jammeh refuses to depart, but ambassadors said it indicates the new president can do what he feels is needed if necessary.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke with Barrow by phone Thursday to offer “full support for his determination … to restore the rule of law in The Gambia so as to honor and respect the will of the Gambian people,” according to a spokesman for Guterres. The UN chief also “expressed deep concern about the refusal of outgoing President Yahya Jammeh to step aside and about the high outflow of Gambians into Senegal.”
Senegal, Ghana, Togo and Mali are among the countries who have contributed to the military effort, while the Nigerian air force said 200 of its troops would join forces from the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS.
“The deployment is also to forestall hostilities or breakdown of law and order that may result from the current political impasse in Gambia,” a Nigerian statement said.
The UN Security Council is expected to approved a draft resolution later Thursday endorsing the new President and “condemning the attempt to prevent a peaceful and orderly transfer of power.”
The draft calls on Jammeh to respect democracy and step down “in accordance with the Gambian Constitution.”
Speaking after his swearing-in, Barrow appealed to the Security Council to support the country.
Fears of political violence
Save the Children has warned of the danger of a humanitarian emergency in both Gambia and Senegal as fears of political violence prompted tens of thousands — many of them women and children — to leave their homes.
“These children are largely fleeing to parts of both Gambia and Senegal where public services such as health facilities and schools are already under a great deal of strain,” said Bonzi Mathuri, Save the Children’s Senegal country director.
After Barrow’s inauguration, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson offered the new leader his congratulations and called on Jammeh to leave office.
“The elections … were free and fair, and an orderly expression of democratic choice by the Gambian people,” he said. “They represent a new chapter in the country’s history and an opportunity for change in the Gambia.”
Before the ceremony, the government of Botswana said in a statement posted to Twitter and Facebook that it would “no longer recognize Mr. Jammeh as the President of Gambia.”
“Mr. Jammeh’s decision not to respect the will of the Gambian people undermines the ongoing efforts to consolidate democracy and good governance in the Gambia and Africa as a whole,” it said.
On Tuesday, Jammeh declared a state of emergency, claiming “a situation exists which, if it is allowed to continue, may lead to a state of public emergency,” and said he had filed an application with Gambia’s Supreme Court to prevent Barrow being sworn in
Tourists flee country
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 it expected to fly about 3,500 vacationers out of Gambia by the end of Friday.
British tourist Sara Wilkins, 44, told CNN she and her husband arrived in Gambia nearly a week ago and noticed a lot of military on the streets. She said they had not been able to leave their hotel in recent days.
Wilkins said she had witnessed “manic” scenes at the airport and at the hotel, where “everyone was panicking and crying.”
On her return flight home, she said she sat next to a Gambian man who cried throughout the journey having failed to get his wife and 3-month-old baby out of the country.
The US State Department has issued a warning to US citizens in the country, telling them to “shelter in place due to the risk of armed conflict” and to “seriously consider departing.”
The UK Foreign Office is 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,” it said in an advisory note on its website.
The German Federal Foreign Office also warned against travel to Gambia, given that there is “a possibility of unrest and violent confrontation.”
“The country’s borders will be shut between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., (and) a complete shutdown — including the international airport in Banjul — can’t be ruled out in the coming days,” it said.
