Gambia's Jammeh, facing military pressure, says steps down
By Tim Cocks and Pap Saine BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambia's leader Yahya Jammeh said on Saturday he was stepping down under pressure from West African armies which entered the country this week following his refusal to concede an election defeat to President Adama Barrow. Jammeh is yet to leave the presidential palace but his announcement on state television overnight appears to signal an end of a political impasse. It also brings to a close a reign that began in 1994 when he seized power in a coup. In practice, Jammeh had little choice after some 7,000 soldiers from Nigeria and Senegal entered Gambia on Thursday backed by tanks and warplanes. They were poised to move into the capital as Jammeh's army provided no resistance. Jammeh's authoritarian government established a reputation for torturing and killing perceived opponents to stifle dissent and his departure will likely be welcomed by democracy advocates and viewed as a triumph for African diplomacy. "I have decided today in good conscience to relinquish the mantle of leadership of this great nation," said Jammeh, dressed in a white robe and looking tired. "All those who have supported me or were against me in this period, I implore them to put the supreme interest of our nation the Gambia above all partisan interest and endeavour to work together as one nation," he added. Jammeh made no mention of whether he would go into exile but said he was leaving power in the national interest and was grateful there was no bloodshed during the political stalemate. He spent much of Friday in talks in Banjul with the presidents of Guinea and Mauritania over where he would live and whether he could be offered amnesty for alleged crimes committed during his years in power, said sources close to talks. Those talks were yet to be concluded and some in Banjul said they were angry he was being allowed to bargain and sceptical he would in fact step down, not least because he first accepted he lost the Dec. 1 election to Barrow and then changed his mind. In a last bid to cling to power this week, he declared a state of emergency, dissolved the cabinet and the National Assembly extended his term for three months. More than half the government resigned and 45,000 people fled to Senegal. "It's hard because we want our freedom now. But this man he can say this today and tomorrow it can be different. That's the kind of person he is," said Ismaila Ndiaye, 61, a plumber and stone mason as he gathered with others close to State House. Patience Williams, 50, a dental nurse, derided the West African leaders for not taking a tougher line and said: "He's a stubborn man. It should be surrender, handcuffs or death." 'RULE OF FEAR' BANISHED Barrow, 51, is a soft-spoken man who worked as a property developer and led an opposition coalition few thought would win. He was sworn in at the Gambian embassy in Senegal on Thursday and called for international support. "The rule of fear has been banished from Gambia for good," Barrow told a crowd at a Dakar hotel on Friday, once it became clear a deal had been struck for Jammeh to relinquish power. "To all of you forced by political circumstances to flee our country, you now have the liberty to return home," he said. Barrow was also expected to return to the country. The crisis was a test for regional bloc ECOWAS, not least because Jammeh held office longer than any other current president in the grouping of states. The African Union and U.N. Security Council supported the military intervention. "The accord sees the departure of Jammeh from Gambia for an African country with guarantees for his family, those close to him and himself. He can come back to the country as he pleases," Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was quoted as saying by the Mauritanian state news agency. Gambia's Atlantic beaches make it a holiday destination for Europeans. Tourism, peanut production and overseas remittances are crucial to the economy of the country of 1.8 million. GDP is expected to grow 4.5 percent in 2017 after a projected contraction of 4.0 percent last year, World Bank figures showed. (Additional reporting by Emma Farge in Dakar; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Toby Chopra)
