Gambia leader's term extended as tourists are evacuated
By ABDOULIE JOHN, Associated Press
Jan 18, 2017 8:20 AM CST
British tourists check in at Banjul Airport, Gambia, Wednesday Jan. 18, 2017. Special flights were being organized Wednesday to evacuate British and other tourists from Gambia, where the threat of a regional military intervention loomed as President Yahya Jammeh's mandate expires on Thursday after he...   (Associated Press)

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Gambian legislators voted to extend President Yahya Jammeh's term by three months, just hours before his mandate was set to expire, state television reported Wednesday. As tourists were evacuated, regional countries prepared for a possible military intervention.

The president-elect has vowed to take office on Thursday regardless of whether Jammeh leaves. "Our future starts tomorrow," Adama Barrow was quoted as saying in a tweet, adding that his supporters made history when they elected him in December.

Barrow is currently in neighboring Senegal for his safety, and it was not clear how or where the inauguration would take place.

In a sign of mounting international pressure, Nigeria confirmed a warship was heading toward Gambia for "training" as regional countries prepared to intervene, if necessary, after diplomatic efforts failed to persuade Jammeh to step down.

As the crisis deepened, more than 1,000 mainly British and Dutch tourists began leaving the tiny West African nation on specially chartered flights. Hundreds streamed into the airport, seeking information on departures.

On Tuesday, Jammeh declared a three-month state of emergency as he seeks to stay in power despite losing elections. He has challenged the results, citing voting irregularities, and the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS has threatened to send in troops to make him leave.

Nigeria said it is contributing 200 troops to the standby force for Gambia. Already 11 pilots, 11 crew members and 80 "supporting troops" have been deployed. Senegal and Ghana also are contributing to the force.

Gambia, a country of 1.9 million people, is estimated to have just 900 troops.

Thousands of people have been fleeing to Senegal, including a number of Jammeh's former government ministers, who resigned this week.

However, many tourists continued to enjoy lying on the beach. While Jammeh's government has been accused by human rights groups of arbitrary detentions and torture of opponents during his 22-year rule, the government has promoted Gambia as "the smiling coast of Africa."

Travel group Thomas Cook said it planned to bring home nearly 1,000 vacationers. The evacuation is not mandatory.

In the Netherlands, travel company Corendon said it was sending planes to Gambia to bring home tourists. The company said 831 Dutch tourists were on Corendon vacations there.

Another Dutch tour operator, Tui, was sending five aircraft to repatriate Dutch and Belgian tourists. Tui said it had 815 Dutch tourists and 228 Belgians in the country.

Gambia's new state of emergency bans people from "any acts of disobedience" or violence, and it tells security forces to maintain order.

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Associated Press writer Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands and Bashir Adigun in Abuja, Nigeria contributed to this report.

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