Military intervention in The Gambia is "possible" if President Yahya Jammeh does not step down after having lost elections, the head of the West African regional bloc Ecowas has said.
Diplomacy was the preferred path, but "draconian" measures would have to be considered if it failed, Marcel de Souza told France's RFI radio station.
Four West African leaders are in The Gambia for crisis talks with Mr Jammeh.
He initially accepted defeat to Adama Barrow, before changing his mind.
Asked whether Ecowas would consider sending troops into The Gambia, Mr de Souza told Radio France Internationale: "We have done it in the past. We currently have troops in Guinea-Bissau with the Ecomib mission. We have had troops in Mali. And therefore it is a possible solution."
The leaders of Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone all arrived earlier in the Gambian capital Banjul as part of a delegation to persuade President Jammeh to step down. Mr Barrow has welcomed the regional intervention, saying he hoped Mr Jammeh would give up power.
The UN Security Council met on Monday and urged Mr Jammeh to meet international mediators.
Mr Jammeh, who has ruled the country for 22 years, has questioned the validity of the count after the electoral commission changed some results, even though it insists the outcome was not affected.
The commission said Mr Barrow obtained 222,708 votes (43.3%) compared with Mr Jammeh's 208,487 (39.6%). A third candidate, Mama Kandeh, won 89,768 votes (17.1%).
Source: BBC
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
It's not good idea for military intervention as we don't want to create another Boko Haram. West African countries cannot defeat even the Boko Haram how much more the whole country of Gambia?
Ndur or whatever, hold it right there and u guys must stop this pan Africanism trash. What has the whiteman got to do with cheating your own African brother? You are just following some guy who was blabbing about africanism who wants Africans to go reinvent our own wheels yet he is not riding in African wooden truck
This f001 must never be allowed to get away with this. Is 22 years not enough? Africans ! I just don't know what is wrong with us.Of the scores of migrants who drown and sometimes get stranded on lonely beaches in Europe and the Libyan coast, Gambians form about a third. Why would they be fleeing their country if this beast is any good as a leader.Gambia is a tiny country within the borders of the Senegal.these people need peace to live their lives.
If persuation fails, force must be applied. This beast needs to be forced out of Gambia so the people can have their peace of mind.
@ Kojo Ndur. Stop this nansense of always bringing in white man in every African failure.How long are we going to blame foreign forces for Africa,s woes.Some African countries have had independence for almost 60yrs but abject poverty is very prevailant.Are you blaming the white man for that?Hava you ever heard of Singapore,Malaysia,Hong Kong etc blaming the white man for their problems?They have solutions and don't depend on America or Europe to solve their problems.
@Kojo Ndur 9....won't u pass tribal comment on this article too? You're definitely fond of doing that even when the topic is not relevant....kikikikukuku. I laugh enter bathroom
If you lose, you just concede defeat and transfer power. If you think you have reasons to dispute the results, you use the appropriate legal options available to seek redress. You don't abuse incumbency and annul results. That is arbitrary. Simple
All this problem is we Africans allow ourselves for a white man to control us. This man is afraid that international court will arrest him. However, Bush111 did more than this but the so-called international court kept quiet on it.
All this problem is we Africans allow ourselves for a white man to control us. This man is afraid that international court will arrest him. However, ***barred word*** did more than this but the so-called international court kept quiet on it.