Gambia’s new president has said that Yahya Jammeh, who ruled the country for 22 years and refused for weeks to step down after losing the recent election, has finally “agreed to leave”.
Writing on Twitter on Friday, Adama Barrow said Jammeh would also leave the country.
“I would like to inform you that Yahya Jammeh has agreed to step down. He is scheduled to depart Gambia today. #NewGambia,” he tweeted.
Barrow was sworn-in at Gambia’s embassy in Dakar in neighbouring Senegal on Thursday.
Red carpets were reportedly laid out at the airport in Gambia’s capital in what appeared to be preparations for a speech by Jammeh and a departure.
Also on Friday, Gambia’s chief of defence forces Ousmane Badjie pledged his allegiance to the country’s new president, a major shift as mediation continued to persuade Jammeh to cede power.
Jammeh had rejected Barrow’s December 1 election win, despite significant pressure from regional powers and the UN, sparking a major crisis.
