background
The Republic of The Gambia is the smallest country in mainland Africa, with a population just shy of two million living in an area slightly less than twice the size of the US state of Delaware (about 11,300 sq km). Surrounded by Senegal and the Atlantic Ocean, the Gambia’s location along the Gambia river made it crucial for the trans-Atlantic slave trade and thus sought after by the Portuguese, followed by the British until 1965 when independence was declared under the leadership of president Dawda Jawara. Jawara led the country until a bloodless coup in 1994 saw Yahya Jammeh come to power. Jammeh’s transition of power in early 2017, an example of successful military intervention to achieve a democratic, equitable goal, is the reason we have chosen to spotlight this country so many often overlook.
Former Gambian president Jammeh
On December 1st, 2016, a little over half of the Gambia’s population turned out to vote for the first popular election since Gambian independence from the UK. The results of the election saw the incumbent Jammeh defeated by Adama Barrow, with a difference of about 20,000 votes. Jammeh conceded defeat the following day, and 19 members of Barrow’s United Democratic Party (UDP) who had been imprisoned were released. The election was praised by western media, and there was celebration in the streets of Banjul, the capital. Then, on December 9th, Jammeh rejected the election results and announced he would rule “for a billion years”. The Gambian military was deployed onto the streets of Banjul, setting up sandbagged machine gun positions in anticipation of unrest. Leaders in the Gambian security sector, many fearful of prosecution for their crimes against the Gambian people should a new president come to power, continue to back Jammeh. The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, sent the Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, to negotiate a resolution, but Sirleaf’s aircraft was barred from Gambian airspace.
ecowas
ECOWAS was originally an economic treaty signed in 1975 (known as the Treaty of Lagos) and represents 15 countries in West Africa with a combined land mass about half the size of Europe and home to some 349 million people. ECOWAS is made up of the following West African states:
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Cape Verde
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Ivory Coast
- Liberia
- Mali
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
The composite members of ECOWAS use a common currency and are party to a customs union, among other important aspects, but most important with regard to the constitutional crisis sparked in the Gambia by Jammeh’s actions is contained under Article 58 of the ECOWAS treaty, which reads, in part:
Article 58
Regional Security2. In pursuit of these objectives, Member States undertake to co-operate with the Community in establishing and strengthening appropriate mechanisms for the timely prevention and resolution of intra-State and inter-State conflicts, paying particular regard to the need to:
- f) establish a regional peace and security observation system and peace keeping forces where appropriate;
- g) provide, where necessary and at the request of Member States, assistance to Member States for the observation of democratic elections.
the crisis continues
As Gambian troops began setting up additional checkpoints in Gambia’s largest city, Serekunda, along with the capital of Banjul, Jammeh called for the Supreme Court to invalidate the election results, which would have met the constitutional 10-day deadline for invalidation of suspect or fraudulent elections. Unfortunately, while there was a sitting Chief Justice, there was no supreme court appointed, and at least four positions would need to be filled in order to actually convene the court. On December 13th, Gambian soldiers took over the office of the election commission and physically prevented the staff and director from entering the building. The United States and neighboring Senegal both condemned Jammeh’s actions, which were further declared “null and void” by the African Union. At Senegal’s urging, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) convened an emergency meeting, issuing a unanimous statement that Jammeh must peacefully stand down. Later on the 13th, a delegation of four West African heads of state, the presidents of Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, announced it would fly to the Gambia for immediate negotiations. The following day, the UN stated that Jammeh would face strong sanctions if he continued to stay in power after his term ended on January 18th, 2017. On December 16th, ECOWAS issued a statement demanding Barrow be sworn in and the will of the Gambian people be respected. The statement read, in part, “The authority (ECOWAS) shall undertake all necessary actions to enforce the result of the election…(and) calls on the Gambian defense and security to perform their role in a nationalistic manner and protect lives and property.”
Current Gambian president Adama Barrow
The crisis continued, and on December 23rd, ECOWAS announced it would deploy troops to the Gambia should Jammeh not step down. The deadline was set for January 19th, 2017. On January 1st and 2nd, the Gambian National Intelligence Service shut down three major radio stations. Ousman Badjie, the Chief of Defence, announced that Jammeh had the “unflinching loyalty and support of The Gambia Armed Forces”. On January 17th, Jammeh declared a 90-day state of emergency. Jammeh’s refusal to step down ensured the military intervention would take place.
operation restore democracy
On the 19th, ECOWAS troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Togo, Senegal, and the Gambian navy surrounded the Gambia. By land, soldiers (the vast majority of them Senegalese) prepared to invade. Nigerian aircraft prepared to support the ground forces, and the Nigerian frigate NNS Unity (F92) was deployed to blockade water routes. Adama Barrow, who was in Senegal for safety, was sworn in as President at the Gambian embassy in the Senegalese capital of Dakar. Immediately following the swearing-in, the UNSC unanimously adopted Resolution 2337, which did not endorse the use of military force to depose Jammeh. Despite the lack of authorization from the UNSC, around 7,000 Senegalese soldiers, accompanied by up to 800 troops from Nigeria and 205 from Ghana (along with the Gambian navy) invaded the Gambia after it became clear on the 19th that Jammeh was still refusing to step down. Senegalese troops advanced to Jammeh’s hometown of Kanilai, where clashes broke out. Within a few hours, Senegalese troops had taken control of the village. The offensive was halted to allow for a final chance at mediation before it would resume at noon on the 20th. The United Nations Refugee Agency announced on the 20th that an estimated 800 people had fled the Gambia for Guinea-Bissau, with a further 45,000 fleeing to Senegal. Around 75% of those fleeing were children. When Jammeh refused to step down by noon on the 20th, the deadline was extended to 4:00 GMT. Jammeh still refused to stand down, but his Chief of Defence, Ousman Badjie, pledged the allegiance of the armed forces to Adama Barrow and announced that the Gambian army would not fight ECOWAS forces, but would rather welcome them “with flowers and tea”.
Gambian soldiers shake hands with ECOWAS forces
On the 21st, shortly after Badjie announced his intentions, Barrow and an unnamed Senegalese official informed the world that Jammeh had agreed to step down and go into exile. Senegalese troops were ordered to remain deployed to the border in the event that Jammeh backed out of the deal. Jammeh announced on state television that he would step down and went into exile, first in Guinea, then to Equatorial Guinea. ECOWAS drew down Senegalese forces, withdrawing 3,000 soldiers but leaving 4,000 for security purposes. On the 26th, Adama Barrow returned to the Gambia as president, where he requested that 2,500 ECOWAS troops remain in the Gambia for at least six months.
ECOWAS forces moving into the Gambia
A number of factors, including the small size of Gambia’s military (2,500 or so troops), the considerable international support from the AU, and a general pro-democracy momentum in most of Africa played into the rapid, ultimately completely-bloodless regime change on the part of ECOWAS forces in the Gambia. As of April, Barrow has requested ECOWAS troops remain in the Gambia for even longer, as much of the country is in a state of utter neglect, and when Jammeh fled, he is alleged to have stolen a substantial amount of state money. While it certainly appears that the ECOWAS intervention in the Gambia was a complete success, ultimately time will tell how sturdy the new Gambian government shall be.
