African troops on standby as Gambia deadline expires

West African troops are poised to intervene in The Gambia after President Yahya Jammeh's mandate expired and overnight talks to convince him to stand down failed.


Senegal has deployed hundreds of soldiers to its shared border with Gambia.

Nigeria has pre-positioned war planes and helicopters after regional bloc ECOWAS said it would remove Mr Jammeh if he did not hand over power to challenger Adama Barrow, who won an election in early December.

Gambia's capital, Banjul, was quiet overnight and this morning.

Shops and banks remained closed as military helicopters flew overhead and police trucks patrolled largely empty streets.

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz led last ditch talks with Mr Jammeh in Banjul yesterday before meeting Senegal's President Macky Sall and Mr Barrow in Dakar overnight.

A senior Barrow aide said the mediation effort failed to make any headway but Mr Barrow would be sworn in at some stage today.

It was unclear what Mr Jammeh's next move would be.

In power since leading a coup in 1994, he now faces almost total diplomatic isolation and a government that has all but collapsed from defections.
 [rte.ie]
 19/1/17
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• Σενεγάλη: Ο στρατός θα μπει στην Γκάμπια, αν δεν παραιτηθεί ο πρόεδρος Τζάμε