Former president of The Gambia, Yahyah Jammeh, has finally relinquished the power and fled the country, carrying members of his family on exile to the Republic of Guinea.
He left the Gambian territory today, Saturday night.
His action might not be unconnected with Friday’s final peace move by Conde and Mauritania’s President, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who persuaded him to vacate office peacefully.
In a statement issued on State TV on Friday night, Jammeh said that he would step down to avoid bloodshed in The Gambia.
He said: “Fellow Gambians, my first preoccupation as president and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and a patriot is to preserve at every instance and in every circumstance, the lives of Gambians and this is a duty I hold sacrosanct.
“As a Muslim and as a patriot, I believe that it is not necessary that any blood be shed.
“It is as a result of this that I have decided today (Friday) in good conscience to relinquish the mantle of leadership of this great nation.”
Jammeh was defeated in the December 1st presidential election by Adama Barrow, who was sworn in as President on January 19 in the neighbouring Senegal. [myad]
