Longtime Gambian leader agrees to give up power

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Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh, facing heavy pressure from West African troops in an extraordinary military intervention, has finally agreed to give up power and leave the country.

"I think it is not necessary that a single drop of blood be shed," Mr. Jammeh said in a brief statement on state television.

He did not give details on any deal that was struck, and it was not immediately clear when Adama Barrow, who beat Jammeh in last month's election, would return from neighbouring Senegal to take power.

Shortly before Jammeh's address, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz told reporters that a deal had been reached and that Jammeh would leave the country. He and Guinean President Alpha Conde had handled the talks.

Senegalese troops had been poised to remove Mr. Jammeh forcibly as negotiations continued on Friday night and there was no clear indication of when Mr. Jammeh would depart. Some unconfirmed reports suggested he could leave on Saturday or Sunday.

Mr. Barrow, who defeated Mr. Jammeh in an election last month, announced on his Twitter account earlier Friday night that the long-ruling autocrat has agreed to step down. But the tweet was later deleted, in a possible sign that the negotiations were bogged down. Mr. Jammeh is believed to be seeking an amnesty from prosecution and the right to take his financial assets with him.

When he leaves, it will be a rare defeat for Africa's dictators and autocrats, who have entrenched their rule and extended their power with rigged elections and violence for years. It will be a remarkable victory for West African nations in their efforts to support democratic elections.

Mr. Barrow, unable to enter his homeland after Mr. Jammeh clung to power, was sworn into office as president on Thursday in an unusual ceremony at the Gambian embassy in neighbouring Senegal.

Within hours, Senegalese troops in armoured vehicles rolled across the border into Gambia as part of an internationally supported West African offensive to enforce democracy and hasten the dictator's departure.

Nigerian warplanes have screamed across Gambian skies in a further pressure tactic. There has been no Gambian resistance to the invading troops, but the troops paused before reaching the major cities, giving a further chance for negotiations to continue.

Mr. Jammeh, a former army lieutenant who seized power in a 1994 coup and became one of Africa's most brutal and eccentric dictators, was legally required to step down on Thursday at the end of his term. But he has clung to power, declaring emergency rule and claiming that he should stay in office while launching a court challenge of the election results.

Mr. Jammeh has been increasing isolated under the intense military and diplomatic pressure. He has been abandoned by a growing number of his cabinet ministers, senior military officers, ambassadors and judges.

His chief of defence staff, Ousman Badjie, said he recognized Mr. Barrow as the commander-in-chief. He said his troops would not resist the Senegalese forces that had crossed the border. "We are going to welcome them with flowers and make them a cup of tea," he told the Reuters news agency on Friday.

There were video clips of Mr. Badjie dancing in the streets with the dictator's cheering opponents on Thursday.

He had already warned that his soldiers would refuse to fight for Mr. Jammeh. "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."

With files from The Associated Press