Guinean and Mauritanian presidents on Friday successfully persuaded Gambia’s former President Yahya Jammeh to leave the country immediately, a State House source said.
President Alpha Conde of Guinea and Mauritanian President Muhamad Abdul Ould Aziz made a last-minute effort to convince Jammeh to exit peacefully and make room for the country’s new President Adama Barrow, who took the oath of office on Thursday in Dakar, Senegal, where he has been for some days.
The Guinean and Mauritanian presidents held talks for several hours with Jammeh. It was not immediately known where Jammeh would head to and no details of their discussion were disclosed.
He had been given a deadline to vacate the presidency by noon on Friday or be ejected out by UN-backed regional forces from member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The deadline was extended to 16:00 GMT due to the late arrival of the Guinean and Mauritanian presidents in Banjul.
An eyewitness said that the ECOWAS monitoring troops were already on The Gambian soil.
Human rights advocate Bakary Camara said that Jammeh’s refusal to leave peacefully was an insult to Gambians.
He said that he should not be granted asylum in any country. Instead, he said that Jammeh must unconditionally surrender himself or be arrested by ECOWAS forces and handed over to Gambian authorities.
