Gambian activists urge justice as longtime leader steps down

BANJUL / AP

As Gambia’s defeated authoritarian ruler prepares to leave the country, human rights activists demand that he be held accountable for alleged abuses.
Yahya Jammeh announced early Saturday he will cede power, after hours of last-ditch talks with regional leaders and the threat that a regional military force would forcibly remove him. No date has been set for the return of Gambian President Adama Barrow, who beat Jammeh in last month’s election and who was sworn into office Thursday in neighboring Senegal, where he was for his safety. “The rule of fear” in Gambia had ended with Jammeh’s rule, said Barrow late Friday. Jammeh could leave Gambia on Saturday but may stay on for three days, according to those close to the negotiations mediated by Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and Guinean President Alpha Conde. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak about the situation to the press.
Jammeh’s agreement to step down brought an end to the political crisis in this tiny West African nation of
1.9 million.