Inauguration looming, regional troops enter Gambia

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria

Troops from West Africa’s ECOWAS bloc have met no resistance so far in starting an incursion of Gambia to enforce the outcome of last month’s election, an official of the body said Thursday.

Gambia fell into crisis last month after longtime President Yahya Jammeh refused to accept his electoral defeat. The nation’s president-elect, real estate developer Adama Barrow, is due to be sworn in this afternoon, reportedly in neighboring Senegal.

An ECOWAS official, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the press, told Anadolu Agency: “We have assurances from the local army that there will be no resistance whatsoever to the regional army. This has proven to be true so far, as land troops have already crossed the Senegalese border to enter Farafenni without any incident.”

Farafenni is a market town on Gambia’s northern border with Senegal, its much-larger neighbor which surrounds it on three sides.

“The local troops stationed in Farafenni simply waved a white flag to allow the ECOWAS troops to enter freely. A similar scenario is playing out elsewhere across the country, and we are happy the local military is cooperating, so far.”

Show of force

Nigerian warship NNS Unity F92 launched a naval blockade of the Gambian waters late Wednesday, he added, joined by contingents from Ghana and Senegal which is expected to contribute the most troops due to its proximity to Banjul, the coastal capital where the Banjul River meets the Atlantic Ocean.

The operation is codenamed ECOMIG – Economic Community of West African States Military Intervention in the Gambia.

In a pre-dawn statement Thursday, the Nigerian Air Force said it had flown a contingent of 200 men and air assets including fighter jets, transport aircraft, light utility helicopters, as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to Dakar from where it is expected to operate into Gambia.

The Nigerian contingent is led by Air Commodore Tajudeen Yusuf.

“The deployment is also to forestall hostilities or the breakdown of law and order that may result from the current political impasse in The Gambia,” spokesman Ayodele Famuyiwa said in a statement.

Ghana, for its part, also flew in a 200-men military contingent for the operation as options dwindle for Jammeh, who has been deserted by several top aides, Cabinet ministers and, lately, Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy.

"The president of the republic and commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, Nana Akufo-Addo, has authorized the deployment of a combat team of two hundred and five (205) troops, backed with the appropriate logistical equipment, to the Islamic Republic of The Gambia as part of the ECOWAS Mission in that country," according to a statement issued in Accra by the president's office.

ECOWAS leaders have long resolved to force out Jammeh if diplomacy failed.

‘No longer Gambia’s leader’

In a speech late Wednesday in Dakar, Senegal’s Foreign Minister Mankeur Ndiaye said Jammeh ceased to be the leader of Gambia as of midnight.

Ndiaye spoke minutes after Senegal’s President Macky Sall ended a meeting on the Gambian standoff with his Mauritanian counterpart Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in Dakar.

Ndiaye said nothing would stop the inauguration of President-elect Barrow on Thursday.

President Aziz flew to Banjul last night in a last-ditch peace attempt to convince Jammeh to step down. But he left Banjul without any resolution, according to Senegalese military insiders who asked not to be named.

“President Barrow will be inaugurated on Gambian soil and will be accompanied by ECOWAS troops. It could be in the Gambia or in any Gambian Embassy,” Ndiaye said.

Barrow himself tweeted Thursday that he would be inaugurated in Senegal’s capital.

“You are all welcome to my inauguration today 4pm at The Gambian embassy in Dakar,” he tweeted.

Safety indoors

Gambia is tense as citizens continue to flee in fear of an imminent military crackdown.

Barrow’s spokesman Mai Fatty said in a post on social media on Wednesday that Gambians should stay indoors.

“Do not go out after 12 midnight. Stay indoors for safety purposes. Anyone seen outside tonight shall be deemed a rebel, and will certainly be dealt with,” Fatty said.

“Get essential supplies and remain indoors, as Gambia will make history soon,” he added.

Nothing has been heard from Jammeh’s camp since Wednesday, when he declared emergency rule for 90 days.

* Alpha Kamara from Senegal and Umaru Sanda Amadu from Ghana contributed to this report