Category: The Gambia

Gambia’s new president commits to end human rights abuses

Gambia President Adama Barrow, left, reads, during his inauguration ceremony in Banjul , Gambia, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. Gambia’s new president thanked his nation and promised greater freedom, an improved economy and better education as thousands attended a ceremony Saturday marking his inauguration after a tense political standoff with the country’s former longtime leader.

W. Africa to scale back military in The Gambia

West African nations plan to scale back a military force that secured the return to The Gambia of new President Adama Barrow to take power, the force commander said Friday. The mission of the Economic Community of West African States regional bloc will see “a progressive reduction” in numbers, Senegalese General Francois Ndiaye said in a statement a day after the newly elected leader flew back to his homeland.

Gambians Celebrate the Arrival of Their New President

Gambia’s new president, Adama Barrow, returned to the capital, Banjul, one week after he took the oath of office in the Gambian embassy in Senegal. Barrow has been in neighboring Senegal’s capital, Dakar, since last week as the political crisis unfolded in Gambia with President Yahya Jammeh refusing to accept defeat in the country’s December elections.

.com | Gambia’s new govt mired in controversy over appointed VP’s age

Gambian President Adama Barrow’s administration faced a backlash on Tuesday after admitting its new vice-president may be constitutionally barred from serving and confirming ex-leader Yahya Jammeh will be permitted to keep a fleet of luxury cars. One day after naming Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang as deputy leader, an outcry broke out after local media alleged she was 67 years old, two years over the legal maximum to serve in the post.

Gambia: ECOWAS Troops To Remain For 6 Months

The ECOWAS Commission has said its coalition force in The Gambia would remain for the next six months, as requested by President Adama Barrow. Marcel de Souza said this while briefing members of the diplomatic corps and partner organisations on the political situation in The Gambia in Abuja.

African troops prepare for Gambian president’s return

West African troops approached the Gambian capital on Sunday to secure President Adama Barrow’s arrival from neighbouring Senegal, as controversy erupted over the assurances offered to Yahya Jammeh to guarantee his departure. Jammeh flew out of The Gambia on Saturday, ending 22 years at the helm of the tiny west African nation, and headed for Equatorial Guinea where he is expected to settle with his family.

Troops enter The Gambia to secure Barrow’s return

West African troops entered The Gambia Sunday to secure President Adama Barrow’s arrival from neighbouring Senegal, as controversy erupted over the assurances offered to Yahya Jammeh to guarantee his exit. Jammeh flew out of The Gambia on Saturday, ending 22 years at the helm of the tiny west African nation, and landed in Equatorial Guinea a few hours later where he is expected to settle with his family.

No immunity deal for Jammeh: Senegal

West African leaders did not agree to grant Yahya Jammeh any immunity during negotiations that convinced Gambia’s longtime ruler to flee into exile, Senegal’s foreign minister said on Sunday. Jammeh, who is accused of serious rights violations, led his country for 22 years but refused to accept defeat in a December election.

Gambia’s Jammeh flies out of country after stepping down

Yahya Jammeh, The Gambia’s leader for 22 years, flew out of the country Saturday after declaring he would step down and hand power to President Adama Barrow, ending a political crisis. An AFP journalist at the scene saw Jammeh take off in an unmarked plane heading for an unspecified destination, seen off by a delegation of dignitaries and soldiers.

Gambiaa s defense chief wona t fight, supports Barrow

Gambia’s chief of defense forces pledged his allegiance to the country’s new president Friday, a major shift as mediation continued to persuade the defeated Yahya Jammeh to cede power. Ousmane Badjie told The Associated Press the country’s security services all support the newly inaugurated Adama Barrow and said they would not fight a regional force that was poised to push out Jammeh if talks failed.

The Latest: Barrow, still in Senegal, prays for Gambia peace

The Latest on Gambia’s political crisis, sparked by defeated leader Yahya Jammeh’s refusal to leave office : Red carpets have been laid out at the airport in Gambia’s capital in what appears to be preparations for a speech and a departure. West African leaders have been meeting with defeated leader Yahya Jammeh in an effort to persuade him to cede power to newly inaugurated leader Adama Barrow.

.com | Senegal: Troops enter Gambia in effort to get Jammeh to go

Senegalese troops charged into neighboring Gambia late on Thursday in a show of force to oust longtime ruler Yahya Jammeh after he failed to step aside when his mandate ended at midnight after losing the presidential election last month. The troops moved in shortly after Adama Barrow was inaugurated as Gambia’s first new leader in more than 22 years at the country’s embassy in neighbouring Senegal after a final effort at diplomatic talks with Jammeh failed to secure his departure.

Gambia president-elect set for inauguration in Senegal

The streets of Banjul are deserted Wednesday Jan. 18, 2017. Special flights were being organized Wednesday to evacuate British and other tourists from Gambia, where the threat of a regional military intervention loomed as President Yahya Jammeh’s mandate expires on Thursday after he lost elections in December.

Britons tell of ‘chaos’ as they arrive home from Gambia amid political unrest

British tourists check in at Banjul Airport, Gambia, for special flights after the threat of a regional military intervention loomed British holidaymakers told of a “chaotic” scramble to get them on flights out of Africa when they landed home from crisis-torn Gambia. The first UK tourists arrived at Manchester Airport, speaking of a hurried operation to get them back to Britain as foreign troops massed on the country’s border.

West African troops threaten to ‘take action’ at midnight in Gambia

A military commander with West Africa’s regional bloc says its forces will “take action” at midnight unless a solution is found to Gambia’s political crisis before then. Speaking on Senegalese radio station RFM, Seydou Maiga Mboro of Niger declared that “all the troops are already in place” awaiting the deadline for President Yahya Jammeh to step down.

.com | Gambia’s Barrow flies to Mali for crisis talks

West African leaders flew out of Banjul late on Friday with The Gambia’s president-elect Adama Barrow, en route to Mali for crisis talks with regional heavyweights in hopes of ending the nation’s political impasse. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari led a three-nation delegation to Banjul earlier in the day, which his foreign minister admitted had not succeeded in getting longtime Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to step down.

Nigeria should consider asylum for The Gambia’s Jammeh: MPs

Nigeria should consider giving asylum to The Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh as a way of ending the political crisis in his country, lawmakers said on Thursday. A motion passed in the lower chamber House of Representatives gave members’ backing to regional efforts to resolve the dispute, sparked by Jammeh’s refusal to accept election results.

Akufo-Addo to be sworn in as Ghana’s new president

Nana Akufo-Addo is to be sworn in as Ghana’s new president on Saturday after beating incumbent leader John Dramani Mahama in elections last month. The 72-year-old former human rights lawyer will take the oath of office at a ceremony in Independence Square in central Accra before more than 6,000 guests and members of the public.

Nigeria: West Africa will act on Gambia election crisis

In this Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016 file photo, Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh shows his inked finger before voting in Banjul, Gambia. Family members told The Associated Press on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017, that Independent Electoral Commission chairman Alieu Momarr Njai has gone to Senegal, as the political standoff deepens between Jammeh and President-elect Adama Barrow.

UPDATE 1-Gambia electoral commissioner flees country after threats

Gambia’s electoral commission chairman has fled the country because he received threats after declaring President Yahya Jammeh the loser of a Dec. 1 election, a family member and a colleague said on Tuesday. It was not known where Alieu Momar Njai might have gone a little over two weeks before the planned inauguration of President-elect Adama Barrow.

Gambian president-elect tells Jammeh to transfer power like British

The Gambia’s president-elect Adama Barrow on Monday called on President Yahya Jammeh to step aside, saying that even colonial power Britain was able to hand over power peacefully. In a Christmas message, Barrow said Gambians should be free of the threat of violence as “we enter a New Year of hope” after Jammeh threatened to cling to power unless the Supreme Court orders him to step down.

UN rights chief urges Gambian leader to respect results of presidential election

“This is deeply worrying, given the record of human rights violations in The Gambia, including excessive use of force against demonstrators, arbitrary detention and deaths in custody, as well as allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees,” Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said . The High Commissioner also urged the Gambian authorities to allow people to exercise their rights to peaceful assembly, association and freedom of expression.