Gambia’s Defeated Leader Leaves Country, Ends Standoff

Gambia’s Defeated Leader Leaves Country, Ends Standoff
Gambia's defeated leader Yahya Jammeh waves to supporters as he departs at Banjul airport on Jan. 21, 2017. Jammeh announced early Saturday he has decided to relinquish power, after hours of last-ditch talks with regional leaders and the threat by a regional military force to make him leave. AP Photo/Jerome Delay
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BANJUL, Gambia—Gambia’s defeated leader Yahya Jammeh and his family headed into political exile Saturday night, ending a 22-year reign of fear and a post-election political standoff that threatened to provoke a regional military intervention when he clung to power.

As he mounted the stairs to the plane, he turned to the crowd, kissed his Quran and waved one last time to supporters, including soldiers who cried at his departure.

The flight came almost 24 hours after Jammeh announced on state television he was ceding power to the newly inaugurated Adama Barrow, in response to mounting international pressure for his ouster.

Though tens of thousands of Gambians had fled the country during his rule, Jammeh supporters flocked to the airport to see him walk the red carpet to his plane. Women shouted: “Don’t go! Don’t go!”

Map locates the country of Gambia and its captial.
Map locates the country of Gambia and its captial.