Gambia: Yahya Jammeh Begs ECOWAS to Give Him Little Time to Step Down Today

Gambian ruler, Yahya Jammeh 

The embattled ruler of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh has begged ECOWAS and other countries ready to invade the country to give till 4 p.m, today to step down, reports BBC.

"The Gambia's long-time ruler Yahya Jammeh, who lost elections in December, has asked for an extension of the deadline to stand down to be extended to 16:00 (4PM) local time" Thomas Fessy of the BBC is quoted as reporting.


It is believed the presidents of Liberia, Guinea and Mauritania are in Banjul to convince him to relinquish power in a final bid to see that the incident does not escalate resulting in bloodshed. African troops comprising of different countries are stationed in Gambia to take Jammeh out by force if peaceful talks fail.

The President of Gambia, Adama Barrow was successfully sworn-in yesterday and has been in Senegal since. Political crisis erupted in the country after Barrow defeated Jammeh at the 2016 Presidential election.

He initially accepted the defeat befored he went back and said he will not accept the results.

ECOWAS, AU, UN and forces from African countries are on standy to remove Jammeh by force.

Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and Guinea’s President Alpha Conde told reporters hope remained for a political resolution to the country’s handover crisis as they left for Banjul from Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital. “We still have every chance for a peaceful solution,” Aziz said.

“We have every interest in achieving that, we have enough conflicts in Africa going on without adding another.” Conde said a political solution “must be found” before boarding their flight.