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| President Yahya Jammeh |
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BAMAKO - West
Africa's regional bloc has put standby forces on alert in case Gambian
president Yahya Jammeh does not step down when his mandate ends on Jan. 19,
ECOWAS commission president Marcel de Souza said.
Jammeh has vowed to stay
in power despite losing a Dec. 1 election to rival Adama Barrow, raising the
possibility that regional powers may intervene to oust him if diplomacy does
not succeed in persuading him to leave.
"We have put standby
forces on alert if he does not (step down) on Jan. 19 when his mandate
ends," De Souza said on Malian state television on Thursday evening.
"No one has the right
to oppose the will of the people."
Barrow's surprise victory
and Jammeh's initial decision to concede after 22 years in power was seen
across Africa as a moment of hope. But the president changed his mind a week
later and said again on Tuesday that he would not step down, rebuffing efforts
by West African leaders to persuade him.
Jammeh's camp could not
immediately be reached for comment, but he has said the electoral count was
flawed and that ECOWAS has no right to meddle in Gambia's internal affairs.
The regional bloc has
mandated Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari as mediator to offer Jammeh an
"honorable exit", but if he does not take it then forces might be
deployed, De Souza said.
The BBC quoted De Souza as
saying in an interview that Senegalese troops would lead any military
intervention. Senegal is Gambia's only territorial neighbor and has a frequently
stormy relationship with the country, having sent troops there during a 1981
coup.
Senegal has indicated that
military action would be an absolute last resort.
Diplomats say ECOWAS would
probably seek approval from the U.N. Security Council for the use of force.
ECOWAS deployed troops to Liberia and Sierra Leone during civil wars in the
1990s, setting a precedent for possible intervention.
A first step for raising
pressure once the handover date passes is likely to be targeted sanctions by
the U.N. and others, diplomats say, also raising the possibility that Jammeh
could be offered asylum abroad.
Barrow's supporters
suggested on Thursday that the president might not immediately be prosecuted
for alleged human rights abuses during his rule.
"Justice is
absolutely essential ... but we are going to take the route to truth and
reconciliation," said coalition spokesman Halifa Sallah at a meeting with
the African Bar Association.
Gambia's Supreme Court
will hear a legal challenge on Jan. 10 from Jammeh's ruling party which wants
to overturn the election result.
(Reporting by Tiemoko
Diallo; Additional reporting by Lamin Jahateh; Writing by Nellie Peyton;
Editing by Tim Cocks)
Credit: Reuters
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