The whereabouts of the outgoing President of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh was unknown as at Thursday.
This was just as last-minute attempts by Mauritanian President,
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, to convince Jammeh to give up the presidency,
failed.
There are indications he may have gone into hiding in a bid to escape
being further persuaded into conceding defeat after he earlier devised a
means of extending his stay, by declaring a 90-day State of Emergency.
”He has probably gone into hiding to stop further negotiation,” A
Gambian journalist who pleaded his identity be protected told DAILY
POST.
Recall that the embattled president’s tenure ended Wednesday midnight, although, he has insisted he won’t step down, despite losing the December 1 election.
But President-elect, Adama Barrow, had vowed to go ahead with his
inauguration on Thursday, and ECOWAS, the regional bloc, had vowed to
use military force if necessary to remove resolute Jammeh.
Troops from Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana on Thursday remained in
position in Senegal in case a military intervention becomes necessary.
An ECOMOG military Commander, Maiga Mboro told AP, “All the troops
are already in place and some not far from the Gambian border.
“Already 11 pilots, 11 crew members and 80 supporting troops have been deployed close to the Gambian border.”
Meanwhile, the president-elect, who is awaiting his swearing-in today, affirmed that Jammeh’s tenure was “officially over”.
Source:Daily Post
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