Embattled former president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, has finally decided to step down, following his defeat in the presidential election held last month.

According to France 24, Jammeh is currently writing a statement where he accepts to leave, in the presence of Guinean officials.

Jammeh had reportedly asked the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), for an extension to the deadline given to him to vacate office.

The ECOWAS troops have already taken over large parts of The Gambia and are now on Banjul, the capital where they met with almost no resistance.

Despite Jammeh’s insistence of clinching onto power, Adama Barrow was yesterday sworn-in as President of Gambia in the country’s embassy in Senegal. </s> President Adama Barrow is set to return to The Gambia on Thursday after his predecessor Yahya Jammeh finally quit power under threat of a military intervention, west African political sources said.

A source close to the Senegalese presidency and a diplomatic source in The Gambia’s capital Banjul on Wednesday confirmed the announcement made on a Facebook page linked to the new president that Barrow is due to arrive on Thursday at 4:00 pm (1600 GMT). </s> The African Union will cease to recognise Yahya Jammeh as president of The Gambia should he refuse to stand down by January 19, the date he is due to hand over power to the winner of that country presidential election.The AU’s Peace and Security Council in a statement on Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, also warned of “serious consequences in the event that his action causes any crisis that could lead to political disorder, humanitarian and human rights disaster, including loss of innocent lives and destruction of properties.”The warning came on a day President Muhammadu Buhari was due in Banjul at the head of an ECOWAS delegation to persuade Jammeh to step down.Yahya’s political party, in the latest gambit, has gone to court to halt the inauguration of Adama Barrow, on the basis that Jammeh’s challenge of the electoral result, has not been decided by the country’s Supreme Court.The case was adjourned for months, because the court could not form a quorum.Barrow’s party pledged on Friday that Jammeh would be honoured as a former head of state if he steps down and suggested he might not face trial for alleged crimes during his 22 years in power. </s> DAKAR, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Gambian President Adama Barrow, who was inaugurated in neighbouring Senegal as mediators engineered an exit deal for predecessor Yahya Jammeh, is to return to Gambia on Thursday, a senior aide said.

Barrow will face the task of restoring democratic governance in the sliver-like West African country after 22 years under Jammeh, whose government gained a reputation for the torture and killing of perceived opponents.

"He (Barrow) is leaving tomorrow and will arrive in Banjul at around 4 p.m. (1600 GMT)," aide Amie Bojang told Reuters.

Jammeh pitched Gambia into turmoil in December when he refused to accept his loss in an election to Barrow and demanded a fresh vote.

The former soldier finally stepped down on Saturday and went into exile in Equatorial Guinea under diplomatic pressure given teeth by several thousand West African troops who crossed into Gambia and were poised to enforce the election result.

Many Gambians are angry that Jammeh fled into what they assume to be a luxurious exile rather than face trial for alleged human rights abuses. (Reporting by Emma Farge; writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; editing by Mark Heinrich) </s> Gambia’s former President, Yahya Jammeh, will now leave Banjul on Saturday with President Alpha Conde of Guinea to begin a new life in exile.

This followed Friday’s final peace move by Conde and Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

The two West African leaders travelled to Banjul to persuade the long ruling Jammeh to leave peacefully before West African forces pounce on him.

In a statement issued on state TV on Friday night, Jammeh announced that he was stepping down, a superfluous announcement as he was already no more the leader, having been denied recognition by the world.

All indications are that Jammeh will be going into exile in Guinea.

A senior adviser to new President Adama Barrow said talks to finalise the exile deal were holding up his exit.

“I can assure you that he has agreed to leave,” Mai Ahmad Fatty, Barrow’s special advisor, said in Senegal’s capital Dakar.

Fatty could not say where Jammeh would go into exile.

President of The Gambia, Adama Barrow, had earlier confirmed Jammeh would be stepping down.

Barrow, on his twitter handle on Friday, @adama_barrow, said: “I would like to inform you that Yahya Jammeh has agreed to step down.

Barrow on Thursday took the oath of office as Gambia’s new president.

He was sworn-in about 5pm Senegalese time at the Gambian High Commission in Dakar, Senegal.

Barrow succeeded Jammeh, who lost in the December 1 presidential election and refused to vacate office when his term expired midnight on Thursday.

Gambia’s Chief of Defence, Ousman Badjie, on Friday pledged loyalty to President Barrow.

“West African troops that crossed from neighbouring Senegal into Gambia to help unseat Jammeh would be welcomed with a cup of tea,’’ said Badjie.

ECOWAS armies halted Operation Restore Democracy aimed at installing Barrow on Thursday so regional leaders could make one last attempt to convince Jammeh to step aside.

In Dakar, the Nigerian Force Commander of Operation Restore Democracy, Air Commodore Tajudeen Yusuf, said the ECOWAS forces would not let down their guard in spite of negotiations for Jammeh to leave office.

Yusuf said the troops were awaiting briefing by the political leaders.

Yusuf made the statement while briefing newsmen in Dakar on Friday.

He said: “Even if he quits, we are not letting down our guard.

“Our mandate is to restore peace in Gambia.

“We have been on standby and the troops are still on a very high alert, depending on the outcome of political negotiations.

“We are not letting down our guard.

“Our mandate is to restore democracy in Gambia.”

Yusuf added that the mandate given to them was to restore peace and nothing else.

He promised to carry out his responsibilities professionally while waiting for further directive from the political masters.

Jammeh, in power since a 1994 coup, initially conceded defeat to Barrow following a December 1 election before back-tracking, saying the vote was flawed. </s> Gambia's longtime leader Yahya Jammeh, who lost a December election but refused to recognize the result, has agreed to step down and go into exile, a close advisor to new President Adama Barrow told Reuters.

 Mai Ahmad Fatty was shown a tweet from a Twitter account purported to belong to Barrow stating that Jammeh had agreed to the deal and was asked if it was authentic. "That is correct," he said. </s> Saidy abandoned President Yahya Jammeh, 24 hours to the deadline issued to him by African leaders to hand over to opposition leader, Adama Barrow.

She announced her resignation hours before official end of the tenure of Mr. Jammeh’s administration as the country’s political impasse gets worse over the refusal of Mr Jammeh to relinquish power to the President-elect Adama Barrow who was scheduled to be sworn in on Thursday.

The country’s minister of higher education, Aboubacar Senghore, who was appointed to the position last July, also resigned on Wednesday saying he cannot serve in the post beyond the tenure of the outgoing president.

“Given my strong religious and legal background, I feel it is now ethically and legally speaking time to step down as minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology and Religious Affairs as the constitutional mandate of the current government expires today, Wednesday 18th January 2017,” he wrote in his resignation letter to Mr Jammeh.

The resignation of Mr. Senghore, who was the country’s former foreign affairs minister, brings the number of minister that have resigned from Mr Jammeh’s cabinet since the political logjam to eight.

A source who asked not to be named for fear of being arrested, told PREMIUM TIMES that the increasing resignation of ministers may have forced Mr. Jammeh to dissolve his cabinet.

Having lost all legal avenue to stop the inauguration of Mr. Barrow, the Gambia president, relying on a motion by the parliament, controlled by his party, declared a 90-day state of emergency, which effectively extended his hold on power.

The situation in the tiny West African country has become dire after the failure of a team of leaders from the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, failed to convince Mr. Jammeh to allow for peaceful transition.

ECOWAS has since prepared troops drawn from countries in the region including Nigeria to forcibly remove Mr. Jammeh from office.

Reports indicated that a Nigerian warship was already sailing towards the country on Monday.

On Wednesday, thousands of Western tourists trying to leave the country before the expected deployment of the regional force, gathered at Gambia’s international airport.

Earlier, Nigerian soldiers and a Nigerian warship were sent to the Gambia to terminate the 22-year old leadership of President Jammeh who lost the December 1 election but has vowed not to hand over power today when his term runs out.

Jammeh, who was defeated by Adama Barrow, first conceded defeat but later changed his mind citing irregularities. He has since challenged the results in court but has suffered several setbacks.

Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari was appointed chief mediator in the Gambia by ECOWAS but all attempts to convince Jammeh to leave power peacefully after 22 long years failed. </s> Gambia's longtime leader Yahya Jammeh, who lost a December election but refused to recognise the result, has agreed to step down and go into exile, a close advisor to new President Adama Barrow told Reuters.

Mai Ahmad Fatty was shown a tweet from a Twitter account purported to belong to Barrow stating that Jammeh had agreed to the deal and was asked if it was authentic. "That is correct," he said. </s> Jammeh refuses to leave, Barrow flies out of country

President-elect Adama Barrow flew out of The Gambia late Friday to meet west African leaders attending a summit in Bamako with hopes of ending the country’s political crisis, Nigeria’s foreign minister said.

“The ECOWAS team has decided to depart Banjul tonight in the company of president-elect Barrow headed for Bamako, Mali,” Geoffrey Onyeama told journalists following crisis talks with Barrow and President Yahya Jammeh, who is refusing to leave power.

The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), a 15-nation bloc, has repeatedly called on Jammeh to respect the result of the December 1 election that delivered Barrow to victory and step down after 22 years in power.

A three-nation delegation led by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari landed in Banjul Friday for a second attempt at getting Jammeh to leave, five days before the Gambian strongman’s mandate expires.

Onyeama expressed the bloc’s “determination to find a peaceful solution that accords with the Constitution of the Gambia and also reflects the will of the Gambian people.”

This, he said, would be best served by Barrow meeting representatives from all ECOWAS member nations.

West African heads of state are gathered in Bamako for the Africa-France summit which resumes Saturday.

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President Adama Barrow announces that Yahya Jammeh has agreed step down and leave the country following an intervention by ECOWAS states.