A journalist in Senegal Ida Governston has envisaged that ECOWAS military would have to intervene in the ongoing impasse if embattled President Yahya Jammeh refuses to step down for the President-elect Adama Barrow to be sworn-in.
The President who is supposed to cede power today after losing the elections declared a state of emergency yesterday.
Speaking on Ultimate Breakfast Show hosted by Lantam Papanko, Ida explained that the situation is still unclear because events keep changing.
She explained that after Mr Barrow is sworn-in is expected to be sworn-in in Senegal and would only return to The Gambia if calm is restored and the President Jammeh leaves.
‘Barrow can return if Jammeh leaves because its not safe for him to return because situation is not safe, and if he doesn’t leave, it might be that the ECOWAS military would have to intervene.
‘Yes there is state of emergency declared by the President, the situation is still unclear because things keep changing all the time, …there might be a military action if Yahya Jammeh doesn’t step down after several talks with ECOWAS failed. Most people think there might be military action. Nigeria is the key negotiator so a Nigerian Minister said Mr Barrow might even be sworn-in somewhere else not even in The Gambia. People are expecting that he might even be sworn-in on January 19, 2017 in the Gambian embassy of Dakar,’ she anticipated.
She observed that lots of Gambian citizens have started fleeing The Gambia to Senegal saying there is lots of unrest and anxiety in the country.
‘I don’t have the numbers but its going on already for a couple of days, there are a large number of them going entering the province of Senegal… There is anxiety and people feel they are not safe to live in their homes because anything can happen. The situation has been so uncertain for a month now. So we don’t know when they will be able to come back. There are rumours that Jammeh will probably get asylum somewhere because probably that will interest him, people are asking if he will be sent to the international criminal court. So he needs a solution as long as he wants to stay, more people around him are going away, …will there be enough people to support him if he wants to stay, that is not clear,’ she stated.
Source: Ultimatefmonline.com
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