Yahya Jammeh of Gambia has begged for more time to allow him to leave office peacefully. According to the BBC Mr. Jammeh now wants to be allowed to exit by 16:00 GMT on Friday.
He had been given an opportunity to leave office before noon on Friday or face being forcefully removed.
Guinea’s President Alpha Conde was part of the mediators that met Mr. Jammeh for a final talk at the State House in Banjul.
Senegalese troops backed by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS entered the Gambia on Thursday shortly after the swearing in of Adama Barrow as new president.
The troop halted its advancement to allow for Friday’s mediation.
The Chairman of the Ecowas commission, Marcel Alain de Souza, had indicated that if the meeting with the Guinean leader fails, ECOWAS troops will have no option than to force Mr. Jammeh out.
“If by midday, he [Mr Jammeh] doesn’t agree to leave The Gambia under the banner of President Conde, we really will intervene militarily,” he said.
Mr. Adama Barrow has already received solidarity messages from world leaders including the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.
Source: Africafeeds.com