Senegalese troops backed by other
African forces were poised to enter
The Gambia Thursday after President
Yahya Jammeh refused to leave office,
ignoring a midnight deadline to stand
down or face military action.
Jammeh’ s army chief said his troops
would not fight their entry into the
country , as the Mauritanian president
flew out of The Gambia following
hopes of a last - minute deal to
convince Jammeh to hand over power .

“ We are not going to involve ourselves
militarily . This is a political dispute , ”
Chief of Defence Staff Ousman Badjie
said after eating dinner in a tourist
district close to the capital Banjul,
eyewitnesses told AFP .
“ I am not going to involve my soldiers
in a stupid fight . I love my men ,” he
added . “ If they (Senegalese) come in ,
we are here like this , ” Badjie said,
making a hands up or surrender
gesture .
Jammeh’ s mandate ended at midnight
(local and GMT ) but he has steadfastly
refused to leave office after losing
elections last month to Adama Barrow,
prompting west African states to ramp
up pressure on the president following
weeks of failed diplomacy .
Nigeria sent troops and fighter jets to
Senegal , whose own forces massed on
the Gambian border .

Witnesses said the situation was calm
in Banjul overnight , although troops
had been deployed in the city.
The UN Security Council is scheduled
to meet Thursday to adopt a statement
on West Africa that will reaffirm the
demand for Jammeh to hand over
power , diplomats said.
“ If a political solution fails , we will
engage ” in operations in The Gambia ,
Senegal army spokesman Colonel
Abdou Ndiaye told AFP ahead of the
deadline .
Unsuccessful attempts by the 15- nation
Economic Community Of West African
States (ECOWAS ) led Mauritanian
President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
to fly into Banjul at the 11th hour for a
final round of talks .
Following the discussions he was
hopeful of reaching a peaceful
solution , he was quoted as saying by
Gambian state broadcaster GRTS .
Mauritania is not part of ECOWAS and
diplomats have previously reached out
to the conservative desert nation in
hopes of brokering an asylum deal
with Jammeh.

Shortly before midnight Aziz ’s plane
landed in Dakar , where he was met by
Barrow — who is currently sheltering
there — and Senegal ’s President Macky
Sall , the private Senegalese radio
station RFM reported .
Senegal has also requested UN backing
for regional action against the long -
time president . However, a vote on the
draft resolution has yet to be
scheduled , according to diplomats .
– State of emergency –
Barrow and his team maintain his
inauguration will go ahead on
Thursday on Gambian soil , and his
spokesman said late Wednesday “ we
do not feel any threat” from Senegalese
troops on the ground .
However, the inauguration ’s head
organiser James Gomez said plans for
the transfer of power in a huge
stadium outside the capital were now
cancelled .
The 51- year - old Gambian leader
announced a state of emergency on
Tuesday , saying it was necessary
because of interference from foreign
powers in the country ’s December 1
election , but the declaration has had
little effect on attempts to remove him .
The country ’ s vice- president Isatou
Njie - Saidy resigned Wednesday , family
sources said, along with the
environment and higher education
ministers , in the latest of a string of
cabinet members deserting Jammeh’ s
government .

– Tourists flee –
As tensions rose , Britain and the
Netherlands issued travel advisory
warnings , with around 1 , 000 British
tourists expected to leave on special
flights on Wednesday alone , leaving
the small airport near Banjul
struggling to cope .
Brian and Yvonne Souch, from Witney
in southern England , told AFP they
were unaware of the potential risk of
flying to the country 10 days ago and
felt tour company Thomas Cook should
have kept them better informed.
“ We didn ’t know anything until we
came down for breakfast, ” Souch said,
sitting in shorts and sleeveless T - shirt
in the lobby of a hotel in the Kololi
tourist strip as he awaited a bus to the
airport .
Thomas Cook said additional flights
into Banjul airport would bring home
1 , 000 package holidaymakers , followed
by up 2, 500 more at the “ earliest
possible flight availability ” .
But holidaymakers were told that
Thomas Cook flights would cease in a
few days time, leaving them at risk of
being stranded.
The panic caused by the state of
emergency could prove financially
devastating — experts say up to 20
percent of the economy relies on
tourism .
Gambians were taking precautions and
stocking up on food and supplies in the
few shops that remained open in
districts near the capital , with roads
quiet and street hawkers notably
absent .
A source told AFP that patients at
Banjul ’ s Edward Francis Small
Teaching Hospital, which sits opposite
Jammeh’ s seat of power , were
removed for security reasons . Only
those in intensive care remained.