ECOWAS okays military intervention in Gambia, joint troops stationed at border

ECOWAS has issued an order for military intervention in The Gambia to oust President Yahya Jammeh at the stroke of midnight Thursday when his mandate ends.

Combat troops from Senegal, Nigeria, Mali, Ghana and other West African countries are already stationed at the border to jointly enter the country on air and by land in an operation to thwart any hostilities or breach of law in the country.

“The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has dispatched a contingent of 200 men, as well as an aviation fleet comprising combat aircraft, cargo ships, a helicopter and a surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft in Dakar,” The NAF spokesperson, Ayodele Famuyiwa, said in a statement issued earlier.

ECOWAS had assured that military intervention will be the last resort while it attempted unsuccessfully to convince Jammeh to step down.

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz landed in the Gambian capital Banjul on Wednesday evening in an effort to convince Jammeh who remains defiant.

Gambia’s Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy resigned earlier on Wednesday joining eight cabinet ministers who resigned this month.

President Yahya Jammeh declared a three-month state of emergency on Tuesday starting from January 17 to April 17, 2017.

He also ordered the security forces, who pledged allegiance to him, to maintain law and order in the country during the period.