Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh has declared a state of emergency, just two days before he is supposed to cede power after losing elections last month.

Mr Jammeh is refusing to step down despite international pressure and the threat by other West African nations of a military intervention.

The 90-day state of emergency was announced on state television on Tuesday and will begin immediately.

Mr Jammeh is blaming what he calls the unprecedented level of foreign involvement in Gambia's election. </s> The Gambia’s parliament has extended President Yahya Jammeh’s term, which is due to end on Thursday following his defeat in elections, by 90 days.

It also approved his decision to declare a 90-day state of emergency in the tiny West African state.

The BBC reports that regional leaders have threatened to use military force to oust Mr Jammeh if he refuses to hand power to President-elect Adama Barrow on Thursday.

Thousands of UK and Dutch tourists are being evacuated from The Gambia.

The country is popular with European holidaymakers because of its beaches. </s> Hundreds of tourists evacuated from The Gambia

Thomas Cook is evacuating nearly 1,000 UK customers home from The Gambia following a change in Foreign Office (FCO) travel advice.

A 90-day state of emergency has been declared in the country after its president of 22 years, Yahya Jammeh, has refused to hand over power after losing an election last year.

Senegalese troops are poised to enter the country if no political solution is reached by midnight, an official said. </s> A state of emergency has been declared in The Gambia two days before the presidential inauguration.

President Jammeh said the 90-day state of emergency was called as a result of "the unprecedented and extraordinary amount of foreign interference" in the December election.

After his surprise defeat to Adama Barrow, President Jammeh refused to accept the election result and step down. The country is on lockdown after six cabinet ministers handed in their resignation and Barrow fled to Senegal. Despite mounting pressure from other West African nations and the threat of military intervention, Jammeh said he would not step down.

The Gambia is a popular winter holiday destination for Britons and other Europeans. A spokesperson for Thomas Cooke said: "We currently have 985 UK package customers on holiday there. We maintain reserve aircraft and crew so we have the flexibility to respond swiftly for our customers should we need to."

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said: "President Jammeh needs to respect the will of the Gambian people and step aside to allow the inauguration to take place on 19 January 2017."

She urged British travellers in the region to remain vigilant: "Tensions may increase in the build up to the inauguration on 19 January. This may include the short notice closure of Banjul International Airport." </s> Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, just two days before he is supposed to cede power after losing elections last month. Jammeh is refusing to step down despite international pressure and the threat by other West African nations of a military intervention. The 90-day state of emergency, announced on state television, was to begin immediately. In the announcement, Jammeh also blamed what he calls the unprecedented level of foreign involvement in Gambia’s election. The National Assembly, in approving the state of emergency, condemned the “unlawful and malicious interference” by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, which has said the continental body will no longer recognize Jammeh as Gambia’s legitimate leader as of Thursday.

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President-elect Adama Barrow, the man who ousted Jammeh in the December election, is vowing to take power on Thursday despite Jammeh’s refusal to leave. Jammeh says the country must wait for Gambia’s supreme court to decide on the ruling party’s challenge to the election results, a delay that could take months. On Monday, Gambia’s chief justice recused himself and said he could not rule on Jammeh’s request for an injunction blocking Barrow’s inauguration.

Meanwhile, members of Jammeh’s cabinet are fleeing. Gambia’s foreign affairs minister, along with the ministers of finance, trade and environment, all have resigned, a political official in Banjul said Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. The country’s information minister earlier went into exile in Senegal.

Jammeh has ruled Gambia for more than 22 years. He initially went on state television to concede his election defeat, only to make a dramatic about-face a week later. West Africa’s regional bloc has a standby force for possible military intervention if Jammeh doesn’t step down when his mandate ends this week. Gambia, a tiny nation of 1.9 million people, is estimated to have an army of just 900 troops.

 Barrow is currently in Senegal, and the regional bloc, ECOWAS, has urged Barrow to stay there until Thursday’s inauguration for his safety. On Monday, he was unable to attend the funeral for his 7-year-old son, who had been fatally mauled by a dog a day earlier. </s> Gambia lawmakers have extended President Yahya Jammeh’s stay in office by 90 days.

The lawmakers had on Wednesday given the controversial leader another 3 months of grace. as announced on the country’s State television.

This, report says is to ward off any form of military action and violence that may result from his insistence to remain as president.

Jammeh who has been in power for over two decades, initially acknowledged opponent Adama Barrow as the winner of elections in December.

He later made a U-turn, rejecting the ballot count and lodged a complaint with the country’s Supreme Court and and vowed never to hand over to the winner of the poll.

Barrow is due to be inaugurated on Thursday, as Nigeria and other West African nations have started deploying troops to the tiny nation.

Jammeh had declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, just days before he was due to step down, with British and Dutch travel agencies scrambling to evacuate thousands of tourists on Wednesday. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Yahya Jammeh first seized power in a coup in 1994

The Gambia's parliament has extended President Yahya Jammeh's term, which is due to end on Thursday following his defeat in elections, by 90 days.

It also approved his decision to declare a 90-day state of emergency.

Senegalese troops have reportedly moved towards The Gambian border ahead of possible intervention to force Mr Jammeh to hand power to President-elect Adama Barrow.

Thousands of UK and Dutch tourists are being evacuated from The Gambia.

The tiny West African state is popular with European holidaymakers because of its beaches.

Africa Live: Updates on this and other stories

What happens next?

Adama Barrow: From estate agent to president

Holidaymakers to be returned

The Gambia was plunged into crisis after Mr Jammeh rejected Mr Barrow's shock victory in the 1 December election.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption More than 25,000 Gambians have reportedly taken refuge in Senegal

In a televised announcement on Tuesday, Mr Jammeh said "any acts of disobedience to the laws of The Gambia, incitement of violence and acts intended to disturb public order and peace" were banned under the state of emergency.

He said security forces were instructed to "maintain absolute peace, law and order".

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption British and Dutch tourists at Banjul Airport describe panic after they were told to leave The Gambia

Could there be conflict?

A Senegalese military source said they were "very seriously" preparing for military action in The Gambia, Reuters news agency reports.

Residents in two towns in southern Senegal told the agency they had seen columns of troops heading for the border.

Regional bloc Ecowas, the Economic Community of West African States, has mandated Senegal, which almost surrounds The Gambia, to spearhead military intervention, but only as a last resort and with the backing of the UN Security Council.

The US State Department urged Mr Jammeh to peacefully transfer power to Mr Barrow on Thursday.

"Doing so would allow him to leave office with his head held high and to protect The Gambian people from potential chaos," spokesman John Kirby said.

"Failure to do so will put his legacy, and more importantly The Gambia, in peril," he added.

The Gambia's entire armed forces is made up of only about 2,500 troops, making it difficult to see how they can defeat a regional force if it moves in, says BBC Africa Monitoring security correspondent Tomi Oladipo.

Nigeria's air force was contributing 200 "supporting" troops for the force, navy spokesman Capt Dahun Jahun told the Associated Press.

A Nigerian military source told our correspondent that a Nigerian warship was sailing towards The Gambia as a show of force.

However, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's foreign affairs aide, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, denied it was a war ship, saying a vessel had been sent to evacuate Nigerians if need be.

Where is Mr Barrow?

Mr Barrow, a property developer, has been in Senegal since Saturday. His aides said he would return to The Gambia for his inauguration on Thursday.

In his only comment since the state of emergency was declared, he tweeted: "We made history on the first day of December. Our future starts tomorrow."

Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Barrow won the election by four percentage points

Mr Jammeh's declaration of a state of emergency was seen as an attempt to block the ceremony, scheduled to take place at a stadium in Bakau town, west of the capital Banjul, from going ahead.

Mr Barrow could, technically, also be sworn in at The Gambian embassy in Senegal. However, there are currently no visible preparations under way there.

Could there be a refugee crisis?

At least 26,000 Gambians, mostly women and children, had crossed into Senegal by Monday evening amid fears that violence could erupt, the UN refugee agency said, citing Senegalese government figures.

"The flow has increased sharply since then," regional spokeswoman Helene Caux was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Travel firm Thomas Cook said it would fly back to the UK, over the next 48 hours, 985 customers from package holidays after the Foreign Office advised "against all but essential travel to The Gambia due to ongoing political uncertainty and potential military intervention following the presidential elections".

Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption The Gambia is known to many outside the country as an ideal beach holiday location

About 1,600 Dutch citizens are also being flown home after similar advice from their government.

Tourism has become the fastest-growing sector of The Gambia's economy, and the country, which has a population of about two million, was marketed to holidaymakers as "the smiling coast of West Africa".

But many of its citizens are poor and complain of political repression. Some, including the goalkeeper of the national women's football team, have drowned in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe in the hope of a better life.

Why is Mr Jammeh refusing to leave office?

He has ruled The Gambia since taking power in a bloodless coup in 1994.

The Gambia regularly held elections, which he won until his shock defeat in the latest poll.

Mr Jammeh has said there were irregularities in the election process, including the turning away of some of his supporters from polling stations, and errors made by the electoral commission.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The rise and fall of Yahya Jammeh

The commission accepted that some of the results it initially published contained errors, but said Mr Barrow had still won.

Mr Jammeh has said he will stay in office until new elections are held.

Retaining power would also ensure he was not prosecuted in The Gambia for alleged abuses committed during his rule. </s> Gambia's Jammeh can stay in office for three months -national assembly

BANJUL, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Gambia's National Assembly has passed a resolution to allow President Yahya Jammeh to stay in office for three months from Wednesday, state television said.

Jammeh lost an election in December to opposition leader Adama Barrow and is due to hand over power on Thursday, but the veteran leader has declared a state of emergency and says he will not step down before a court hears his election challenge. (Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Dominic Evans) </s> BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambian President Yahya Jammeh declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after refusing to hand power to opposition leader Adama Barrow, who won an election last month.

State television said the emergency would prevent a power vacuum while the supreme court rules on Jammeh's petition challenging the election result.

That suggests Jammeh will stay in power beyond Thursday, when Barrow was due to be sworn in as president.

Regional leaders have threatened to intervene militarily if Jammeh does not step down and on Tuesday a senior Nigerian army source said Nigeria and other West African states were preparing a military force.

"I...hereby declare a state of public emergency throughout the Islamic Republic of Gambia," Jammeh's declaration said.

The state of emergency banned "acts of disobedience" and "acts intended to disturb public order".

Jammeh took power in a coup in 1994 as only the second president since Gambia's independence in 1965 and his government gained a reputation for torturing and killing perceived opponents, rights groups say. In 2015, he declared that the country was an Islamic Republic.

Pro-democracy activists across Africa welcomed his defeat and his refusal to step down has provoked an internal crisis as well as a test of mettle for regional leaders.

Gambia's top judge on Monday declined to rule on Jammeh's election petition and in a political blow to the president, the ministers of finance, foreign affairs, trade and the environment have resigned, according to ministry sources.

The Nigerian source said that defense chiefs of staff of West African countries met on Monday to discuss strategies to remove Jammeh.

"Some West African countries will be contributing troops, including Nigeria, for the operation," said the source, adding that the United Nations and African Union had offered support to regional body ECOWAS for the plan.

State television said on Monday Finance Minister Abdou Kolley was being replaced by Benjamin Roberts, the Minister of Tourism. Finance ministry sources said on Tuesday Roberts had also resigned.

Ministry sources said other government figures, including Foreign Minister Neneh Macdouall-Gaye, had left the government and the country. The mayor of the capital Banjul has also resigned, according to sources at the city council.

Hundreds of Gambians have fled into Senegal, Gambia's only neighbor, fearing for their safety because of the turmoil, and Senegalese authorities have increased security. Barrow is also in Senegal, his aides say.

"We are scared. There are soldiers with guns all the time," said Awa Sanneh, 25, from Birkama in Gambia, who was leaving with two children and 24 other family members.

One of the smallest countries in Africa, Gambia is reliant on tourism and one main crop, peanuts, to fuel its economy.
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh declares a 90-day state of emergency a day before his mandate ends.