More than 45,000 people have fled a political crisis in The Gambia this month, the United Nations said Friday, as veteran leader Yahya Jammeh faced a midday deadline to leave office, AFP reports.
“Around 45,000 people are now reported to have arrived in Senegal from The Gambia… amid the ongoing political uncertainty as Senegalese and West African troops entered the country on Thursday,” the UN refugee agency said in Geneva.
“It is feared that more people may continue to flee as the situation remains tense,” UNHCR said, adding that another “800 people have crossed into Guinea-Bissau.”
The UN agency noted that arrivals in Senegal have included “Gambians, Senegalese, bi-nationals, as well as Ghanaians, Liberians, Lebanese, Guineans, and Mauritanians among other foreigners.”
This is coming after Jammeh who lost the Presidential election in December refused to hand over to newly sworn in President Adama Barrow. Jammeh has ruled the country for 22 years until his defeat last year in a general election.
The Economic Community of West Africa States is on the standy to oust Jammeh if he refuses to voluntarily hand over to Barrow.
Soldiers from Senegal and four other west African countries have crossed into The Gambia to bolster Barrow, who has been sworn in at the country’s embassy in Dakar.
