Gambia’s Leader-Yahya Jammeh “Begs’ ECOWAS for Extension to Let Him Leave Power

Perhaps Gambia’s leader Yahya Jammeh thought ECOWAS was pulling a stunt when he was asked to leave following his election defeat or be thrown out.

Now that ECOWAS soldiers are almost at his neck, Jammeh has asked ECOWAS for an extension of a midday deadline for him to leave power until 4 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), reports Reuters.

The new agency has published that, “Guinea’s President Alpha Conde and Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz arrived in the Gambian capital Banjul on Friday for last-ditch talks with Jammeh, witnesses said.”

ECOWAS troops entered the Gambia on Thursday night, hours after Barrow was forced to hold his inauguration as president in Dakar, the capital of Senegal–because Jammeh wouldn’t step down.