African troops prepare for Gambian president's return

West African troops approached the Gambian capital to secure President Adama Barrow's arrival from neighbouring Senegal, as controversy erupted over the assurances offered to Yahya Jammeh to guarantee his departure.
Jammeh flew out of The Gambia on Saturday, ending 22 years at the helm of the tiny west African nation, and headed for Equatorial Guinea where he is expected to settle with his family.
However, Equatorial Guinea authorities refused to confirm Jammeh's arrival yesterday despite an opposition statement condemning the relocation.
The Senegalese general leading a joint force of troops from five African nations said soldiers had entered The Gambia to "control strategic points to ensure the safety of the population and facilitate... Barrow's assumption of his role".

An AFP journalist stationed across the river that divides the Banjul peninsula from the northern part of the country said around 100 heavily armed Senegalese troops travelling with armoured vehicles were waiting to move into the capital.
Senegalese forces had briefly crossed into the former British colony on Thursday but pulled out shortly afterwards, with yesterday's troop movement the first by soldiers from the joint force.

Marcel Alain de Souza, a top official with the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), which organised the deployment, said the country "could not be left open" for long, and that Barrow must be in place "as soon as possible".

A senior Senegalese military source told AFP that his forces had met little resistance yesterday, as army chief Ousman Badjie has already declared his loyalty to Barrow.
Following Barrow's win in the December 1 election, Jammeh refused to step down, triggering weeks of uncertainty that almost ended in a full military intervention.
The longtime leader, wearing his habitual white flowing robes, waved to supporters before boarding a small, unmarked plane at Banjul airport alongside Guinea's President Alpha Conde after two days of talks over a departure deal.
He left behind a small minority of diehard supporters, some of whom wept as his plane departed.

The choice of Equatorial Guinea for his exile has helped ease concerns that Jammeh might interfere in his nation's politics if he stayed in Guinea, whose border is not far from The Gambia's eastern region.
The strongman personally controlled certain sections of the security forces, and his long tenure was marked by systematic rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detention.