Gambia army chief abandons Jammeh

Gambia’s army chief has abandoned embattled longtime leader Yahya Jammeh, saying that his forces would not fight against a military operation to remove him, as regional leaders led a last ditch effort to convince him to flee into exile.
The defection of General Ousman Badjie, who had previously stood by Jammeh, removes what was perhaps the former coup leader’s last remaining pillar of support, potentially raising the likelihood of a peaceful solution to the political impasse.
New President Adama Barrow, who won December’s election, was sworn into office on Thursday and immediately called for regional and international support.
West African militaries announced soon after that they had crossed into Gambia.
Speaking to Reuters by telephone, Badjie said he recognised Barrow as the army’s commander-in-chief and would welcome, not fight, the regional force.
“We are going to welcome them with flowers and make them a cup of tea,” he said. “This is a political problem. It’s a misunderstanding. We are not going to fight Nigerian, Togolese or any military that comes.”
West African leaders Alpha Conde of Guinea and Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz meanwhile flew to the capital Banjul yesterday to allow Jammeh one last chance to cede power peacefully.
UN officials, including Mohammed Ibn Chambas, UN Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, were also involved in the talks.
The military operation was halted late on Thursday to give mediation a chance, and a midday deadline was extended yesterday as negotiations, which diplomats said were focusing on a deal to grant Jammeh immunity from prosecution, continued.
“There is a real possibility this could work. I don’t think he is going the (Saddam) Hussain route,” said a regional diplomat, referring to the Iraqi leader who was arrested in 2003 following an invasion, tried and hanged.
A senior official from regional bloc ECOWAS, under whose mandate the military operation was launched, said late on Thursday that there was no question that Jammeh would be allowed to remain in Gambia, even if he agreed to step down.
Jammeh, in power since a 1994 coup, initially conceded defeat to Barrow following a December 1 election before back-tracking, saying that the vote was flawed and demanding a new ballot.
Late on Thursday, he dissolved the government – half of whose members had already resigned – and pledged to name a new one.
His estate – located just 1km from the border with Senegal, Gambia’s sole neighbour, which surrounds it on three sides – was heavily fortified yesterday, witnesses say.
ECOWAS says its intervention, dubbed Operation Restore Democracy, involves 7,000 troops and is backed by tanks and warplanes.
Forces have already entered Gambia from the southeast, southwest and north.
The size of Gambia’s army is unclear, but estimates of their number range from 800 to up to 2,500 soldiers.
While Barrow’s election victory last month and inauguration on Thursday were celebrated by many across the tiny nation of less than 2mn people, support for Jammeh remained strong among some Gambians, who opposed the military intervention.
“Why should the other countries interfere. Why should they force him to leave?” said Momodou Badji, 78, in Banjul’s Kanifing neighbourhood.
Gambia is of little strategic significance, but if a peaceful transition of power fails, it would be a setback for the advance of democracy in Africa.
During his 22-years in power, Jammeh, who once vowed to rule Gambia “for a billion years”, has been accused by rights groups of torturing and killing perceived opponents.
Yet Gambia remains a popular holiday destination for European tourists drawn to its tropical beaches.
Streets in the capital were mostly deserted on Friday and shops, restaurants and petrol stations were shut.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR said about 45,000 people, mainly children, have fled to Senegal since January 1 amid growing fears of unrest.
Thousands of tourists have also left this week.
At least another 800 people crossed into Guinea-Bissau to the south,
said UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Babar Barloch.
“The next few days will be critical and more people may leave the country if the current situation is not resolved peacefully soon,”
he warned.
Most refugees were women and children, with many in need of food, blankets, mats and soap, the spokesman added.