Gambians, tourists flee on eve of deadline for leader to surrender power
Banjul — Gambians and tourists were boarding buses, packing suitcases onto trucks and hiring canoes to flee the capital of Banjul on Wednesday, as President Yahya Jammeh clung to power on the eve of his rival Adama Barrow’s planned swearing in. Jammeh, a former soldier, who once vowed to rule for "a billion years", is refusing to step down, despite condemnation from regional leaders and even the threat of an imminent invasion by West African troops to enforce his election defeat. In a sign he is digging in, Gambia’s national assembly has passed a resolution to allow Jammeh, who has been in power since a 1994 coup, to stay in office for three months from Wednesday. However, the president’s allies have deserted in their droves — eight ministers have so far resigned, four quitting in the past 48 hours — and it is unclear how many of his own armed forces will be willing to defend him once his mandate expires. However, many Gambians are not waiting to find out. At the Bundung Garage bus ...
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