https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/gambias-president-refuses-to-step-down-defying-regional-military-intervention/2017/01/20/098a0782-de94-11e6-8902-610fe486791c_story.html?utm_term=.aeb62d419a75By Kevin Sieff
January 20 at 6:23 PM
NAIROBI — West African envoys made a last-minute effort Friday to persuade Gambia’s longtime leader to step down, as a regional military coalition threatened to remove him by force if he failed to concede he had lost last month’s presidential election.
Adama Barrow, the winner of that election, later announced that President Yahya Jammeh “has agreed to step down.” Barrow wrote on Twitter: “He is scheduled to depart Gambia today.”
But there was no immediate official confirmation from Jammeh, or from the envoys who were negotiating with him, the presidents of Mauritania and Guinea.
Negotiators had made progress in crafting a deal that would lead to Jammeh’s departure, according to foreign officials and individuals close to Barrow, who is staying in neighboring Senegal. But as reporters waited for Jammeh to arrive at the airport in Banjul, Gambia’s capital, it appeared that the talks were dragging on.
Jammeh had earlier expressed interest in obtaining amnesty for crimes he may have committed during his 23-year rule. That request was deemed unacceptable by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the regional body that is leading the effort to remove him from power. Jammeh also asked to live in his native village in Gambia. But it seems increasingly likely that Jammeh — following the example of deposed African leaders such as Ethiopia’s Mengistu Haile Mariam and the Central African Republic’s François Bozizé — would spend his retirement in exile.
Senegal announced Thursday that its troops had crossed into neighboring Gambia after Jammeh refused to leave office on the last day of his term. But the operation, which also involves troops from other members of ECOWAS, was later paused to allow diplomatic efforts to continue. The regional bloc had given Jammeh a deadline of noon Friday to step aside, but that deadline came and went.
The military threat marked an unprecedented defense of democracy in the region, but it also was a testament to the unpopularity of the mercurial ruler.
Gambia, a country with a population of about 2 million and known for its pristine beaches and the large number of its citizens who have migrated to North Africa and Europe, has been in crisis since Jammeh lost the Dec. 1 presidential election. He has ruled for 23 years. The U.N. refugee agency said Friday that 45,000 people, mainly children, have fled the country because of the latest political turmoil.
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