Few venture in the streets as shops remain closed in Banjul, Gambia, on Jan. 19, 2017.The Associated Press
Senegalese troops have swept across the border into Gambia, with no signs of any immediate resistance, as West African forces began a military operation to enforce an election and topple one of Africa's longest-ruling and most brutal dictators.
The Senegalese troops, backed by at least one Nigerian warplane that roared above Gambian cities, were the vanguard of a military intervention by the West African bloc of nations, with the support of the African Union and indirect backing from the UN.
The aim is to force the departure of Yahya Jammeh, the eccentric dictator who has dominated Gambia since he led a military coup more than 22 years ago. The United Nations Security Council passed a motion on Thursday to support the ouster of Mr. Jammeh and to enforce the results of the December election "by political means first."
Mr. Jammeh suffered a clear loss to opposition candidate Adama Barrow in the election, but he has refused to accept the defeat, insisting that he must stay in power while he challenges the result in court. His legal term expired on Wednesday night at midnight, but he is trying to cling to power.
Mr. Barrow was obliged to take the presidential oath of office in a cramped Gambian embassy room in neighbouring Senegal on Thursday afternoon as the West African forces were massing for their intervention.
Within hours of his inauguration, while many Gambians were cheering and celebrating in the streets, the first Senegalese military vehicles rolled across the border into Gambia.
There was no immediate resistance to the invading forces, and many Gambian soldiers seem to have abandoned Mr. Jammeh. His chief of defence staff, Ousman Badjie, was shown dancing with the dictator's cheering opponents on Thursday. There was no sign of police action to stop the celebrations.
On Wednesday, Mr. Badjie had said his troops would not fight the Senegalese forces if they entered the country. "We are not going to involve ourselves militarily, this is a political dispute," he told local journalists on Wednesday. "I am not going to involve my soldiers in a stupid fight. I love my men."
In his inaugural speech, Mr. Barrow appealed to Gambian troops to retreat to their barracks and accept his orders as commander-in-chief. If they defy his orders, they will be deemed rebels, he said.
If the West African pressure succeeds in forcing Mr. Jammeh to give up his claim to power, it will be a huge victory for democracy at a time when other African autocrats have managed to entrench and extend their rule. The West African bloc of nations, known as ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States), has been the most assertive group of African nations in defence of democracy and stability. A victory over Mr. Jammeh would reinforce its image as the strongest democratic bloc on the continent.
Within minutes of Mr. Barrow's inauguration in the Gambian embassy in Dakar, a Nigerian military jet flew over Gambia's major cities in an ominous sabre-rattling move, according to reports from the small West African nation.
The 15-member UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution expressing "full support to the ECOWAS in its commitment to ensure, by political means first, the respect of the will of the people of Gambia as expressed in the results of the Dec. 1 elections."
Gambia, a popular tourist destination with sandy ocean beaches, has a small army of less than 1,000 troops, who would be little match for the West African forces. Gambia is surrounded by the territory of Senegal, where the West African troops and Nigerian warplanes were reported to be massing for the potential intervention.
Mr. Barrow defeated Mr. Jammeh last month in a stunning election upset that was upheld by international observers and the Gambian electoral commission, but Mr. Jammeh refused to step down and insisted that he would continue to rule the country while he challenged the result in court. Since then, several of his cabinet ministers and military officers have abandoned him, but he has clung to power.
Britain, the European Union, the African Union and Botswana were among the first to recognize Mr. Barrow's presidency on Thursday, increasing Mr. Jammeh's isolation.
Mr. Jammeh, a former army lieutenant who has ruled Gambia since seizing power in a 1994 coup, was reported to be negotiating his possible departure from Gambia with mediators from other West African countries. His main interests in the negotiations were an amnesty from potential prosecution and the right to take his financial assets with him, according to a Bloomberg report.
Mr. Barrow, in his inaugural speech on Thursday, noted that this will be the first democratic transition of power in Gambia since its independence from colonial rule.
"This is a victory of the Gambian nation," he said. "Our flag will now fly high among the most democratic nations of the world."
But by Thursday evening there was still no sign of Mr. Jammeh's departure, and his Information Minister was still expressing defiance against the West African forces.
Mr. Jammeh, one of Africa's most ruthless and eccentric dictators for the past 22 years, had vowed to rule Gambia for "a billion years."
His secret police have imprisoned and tortured his opponents while he bizarrely claimed to be able to cure AIDS and infertility with his homemade herbal potions. His police have arrested people for failing to show enough enthusiasm for his motorcade, and he has even banned soccer in the rural regions in a bid to force farmers to boost their agricultural output.
His election opponent, Mr. Barrow, was a little-known real estate developer and former security guard who headed a coalition of opposition parties in the December vote.
Gambia's luxury resorts are popular among European tourists, who see the country as a coastal paradise. But most of Gambia's citizens live in desperate poverty. More than 10,000 fled the country in 2016 alone, risking a highly dangerous journey across the Sahara and the Mediterranean in an attempt to reach Europe.
Geoffrey York