Gambia’s incumbent President Yahya Jammeh is refusing to give up the presidency after holding office for over 22 years.
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Quoting a source, BBC reported that Nigeria’s newest warship, the NNS Unity, is sailing towards Gambia ahead of possible military intervention. Hundreds were streaming into the airport, seeking information on departures.
The Supreme Court has said it won’t be able to hear Jammeh’s petition until May because there aren’t enough judges to sit in the court.
In Washington, the US State Department urged Jammeh to “peacefully hand over power” to Barrow, who is in Senegal, where he plans to remain until his planned inauguration on Thursday.
Barrow, who once worked as a security guard at a North London shop, is in Senegal – fuelling speculation he might be sworn in as president at the Gambian embassy in Dakar.
Gambia’s ministers of finance, foreign affairs, trade and the environment resigned from his government, state television said Tuesday, as regional forces prepared to oust the veteran leader if he refused to step down this week.
Senegalese forces also are poised to cross the border, army spokesman Col. Abdou Ndiaye tells Reuters.
While calling them ” opportunistic people supported by the West“, he said that “I will bow to only Allah and my mother. Senegal and Ghana also are contributing to the force.
The Gambia’s entire armed forces is made up of only about 2,500 troops, making it hard to see how they can defeat a regional force if it moves in, says BBC Africa Monitoring security correspondent Tomi Oladipo.
“We are dispatching a special assistance team with our first flight from the United Kingdom to provide additional support at Banjul airport for our customers”, a Thomas Cook spokesperson said in a statement.
Jammeh, who first seized power in a 1994 coup, has insisted that his continued rule was ordained by Allah. L started flying almost 1,000 holidaymakers home on Wednesday. The company said 831 Dutch tourists were on Corendon vacations there.
“Tour operators will not send out any further package holidaymakers to the Gambia while the FCO advice remains in place”. Tui said it had 815 Dutch tourists and 228 Belgians in the country.
The Department today updated its advisory for the country, telling people to avoid non-essential travel.
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The panic caused by the state of emergency could prove devastating for the country’s economy, which experts say relies on tourism for up to 20% of the economy.
