Region to send in troops if Gambia president won’t step down
LAGOS, Nigeria — West African leaders will send troops into Gambia if its longtime ruler who lost elections does not step down next month, the president of the Economic Community of West African States said Friday.
Marcel de Souza told reporters that the regional bloc has chosen Senegal to lead any military intervention if President Yahya Jammeh does not hand over power.
“The deadline is Jan. 19 when the mandate of Jammeh expires,” de Souza said. “If he doesn’t go, we have a standby force, which is already on alert. And it’s this standby force that should be able to intervene to restore the will of the people.”
This would not be the first time the bloc has intervened in a regional crisis. De Souza spoke to reporters in Bamako, Mali, even as ECOWAS continues to use diplomacy to get Jammeh to accept his Dec. 1 defeat.