[Al Jazeera] Troops from a bloc of West African countries have entered Gambia... The Gambia is actually surrounded by Senegal on all sides but its west coast. It has a population of about 1.7 million. The difference between the two is that in colonial days Senegal was ruled by La Belle France and The Gambia (so-called because there's only one of it, unlike Guinea, of which there are the Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, New Guinea, the English coin in circulation between 1663 and 1813, and Guyana, which sounds like it should be another one) was ruled by Britain...
in support of Adama Barrow, shortly after the new Gambian president called for international backing following his inauguration in neighbouring Senegal
... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees...
Longtime ruler Yahya Jammeh, who came to power in a 1994 coup, has refused to step down
...
Hell no! The money's too good!...
despite losing a disputed December 1 presidential election to Barrow, deepening a political crisis.
In a statement, Senegal's army said on Thursday that forces from ECOWAS, West Africa's regional bloc, had begun strikes as part of an operation aimed at upholding the result of last month's vote.
Colonel Abdou Ndiaye did not specify the type of strikes, but said "significant" land, air and sea resources had been made available .
Earlier on Thursday, Barrow, who had recently sought shelter in Senegal, took the oath of office in a hastily-arranged ceremony at Gambia's embassy in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
"This is a day no Gambian will ever forget in a lifetime," Barrow said in a speech immediately after being sworn in.
Not long after his inauguration, the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution backing Barrow and called for a peaceful transer of power.
"The people of The Gambia spoke clearly at the elections in December. They chose Adama Barrow to be their president. Their voice now needs to be heard and their will needs to be heeded by just one man," Peter Wilson, the UK deputy ambassador to the UN, said.
Earlier this week, Jammeh had declared a national state of emergency , while the parliament extended his term in office by 90 days. He has not been heard from since his mandate expired at midnight.
Gambia’s vice president steps down amid growing political crisis
[Iran Press TV] The Gambia’s vice president has resigned amid a growing political crisis in the West African country, triggered by the refusal of incumbent President Yahya Jammeh to step down despite his election loss to opposition leader, Adama Barrow.
Isatou Njie Saidy, the highest-level official to abandon Jammeh’s camp, announced her decision on Wednesday, hours before president’s mandate expires. She had been vice president of the Gambia since 1997.
The Gambia’s Minister of Education Abubacar Senghore had also resigned earlier on the same day, becoming the eighth cabinet minister to leave the government this month.
Jammeh had initially accepted the results of the December 1, 2016 election, in which Barrow was declared the winner, but later reversed his position and filed a complaint with the Supreme Court over election irregularities.
| Update from Ynet at 4:30 p.m. ET: |
Jammeh, however, has offered to step aside once before but changed his