The embattled
former president of Gambia Yahya Jammeh has pleaded with ECOWAS for an
extension of the deadline given to him to vacate office from noon to 4 pm local
time.
The
recalcitrant ruler, who had earlier vowed not to step down, was given a “last
chance saloon” deadline to bow out as troops from five African nations stood by
for action, while key regional leaders flew in to make a final plea.
The military
intervention – named Operation Restore Democracy – aimed at installing Adama
Barrow as the president of the country has been halted temporarily to allow for
a last-ditch negotiation.
“We think that up until the last minute
there is still a solution through dialogue,” said Marcel de Souza, head of the
ECOWAS commission.
He further
explained the decision to suspend the advance to reporters in Dakar late on
Thursday.
Mauritania’s
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and Guinea’s Alpha Conde also told newsmen that they
remained optimistic for a political resolution to the country’s handover crisis
as they left for Banjul from Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital.
“We still have every chance for a peaceful
solution,” Aziz said. “We have every interest in achieving that, we have enough
conflicts in Africa going on without adding another.”
Conde said a
political solution “must be found” before boarding their flight.
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