Gambians today anxiously awaited the departure of ex-president Yahya Jammeh to a life in exile, possibly in Guinea, after a deal with west African leaders headed off a regional military intervention.
After marathon talks with Guinea's leader Alpha Conde and Mauritania's Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Jammeh accepted to hand over power peacefully to The Gambia's new President Adama Barrow, who is waiting in neighbouring Senegal for the strongman of 22 years to leave.
AFP journalists at Banjul airport saw a Mauritanian plane standing by on the runway. Top officials said it was preparing to take Jammeh to the Guinean capital Conakry -- though by the early evening there was still no sign of the veteran leader.
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"Yahya Jammeh prefers, for the moment, to come to Guinea, to stay in Conakry, before he decides, along with the Guinean authorities, where to move for good," Guinean state minister Kiridi Bangoura said.
An official from regional bloc ECOWAS -- which backed a threat of military intervention before Jammeh yielded and announced he would step down -- said "one or two villas" had been prepared for him in Conakry.
The agreement that finally saw the strongman give in to pressure to step down "foresees the departure of Yahya Jammeh from The Gambia for an African country with guarantees for himself, his family and his relatives," Abdel Aziz said on return to Nouakchott in remarks quoted by the official AMI news agency.
Activists will be keen to see Jammeh -- who controlled certain sections of the security forces -- refused amnesty for crimes committed during his tenure, which was rife with rights abuses.
Diplomats had also mentioned Morocco, Equatorial Guinea and Mauritania as possible places of exile for Jammeh.
Jammeh's actions will be carefully monitored as he has previously agreed to step down after recognising Barrow as winner of the December 1 elections -- before completely reversing his position.
"I have decided today in good conscience to relinquish the mantle of leadership of this great nation with infinite gratitude to all Gambians," Jammeh said on state television early today.
"My decision today was not dictated by anything else than the supreme interest of you, the Gambian people and our dear country," he added.
After a calm night in Banjul, many only heard the news on waking, and greeted his declaration with a cautious optimism, aware of the leader's mercurial nature.
"God has heard our prayers!" said Sheikh Sham, a 34-year-old metalworker from the suburb of Kanifing west of Banjul.
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