GAMBIAN President Yahya Jammeh defied a noon ultimatum to step down yesterday after troops from regional bloc Ecowas entered the country overnight.

And his chief of defence staff abandoned him last night, pledging loyalty to the would-be new leader Adama Barrow.

“You cannot push us to war for an issue we can solve politically,” Ousmane Badjie said. “We don’t see any reason to fight.”

Presidents Alpha Conde of Guinea and Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania flew in yesterday hoping to persuade Mr Jammeh to go quietly.

Mr Jammeh, who came to power in a 1994 coup, initially conceded defeat to opponent Adama Barrow, before deciding to reject the results.

The BBC and Reuters reported that Mr Jammeh had asked for the deadline to be extended but other agencies said instead he had offered to go in return for assurances he would not face trial for any of his alleged crimes during his 22-year rule.

Ecowas chairman Marcel Alain de Souza said that condition was unacceptable.

Mr Jammeh “has the choice of going with President Alpha Conde,” he said, or “we will bring him by force or by will.

“Our troops will advance on Banjul. Until the last minute, we still think there is a solution resulting from a dialogue.”

The troops, mainly from Senegal which surrounds the river valley nation of fewer than two million inhabitants, crossed the borders just hours after Mr Barrow was sworn in as president under heavy guard at the Gambian embassy in Dakar.

The UN security council unanimously passed a motion supporting military action to ensure Mr Jammeh leaves office.

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