GAMBIA, JANUARY 22, 2017 – Yahya Jammeh, The Gambia’s leader for 22 years, flew out of the country Saturday after declaring he would step down and hand power to President Adama Barrow, ending a political crisis.
An AFP journalist at the scene saw Jammeh take off in an unmarked plane heading for an unspecified destination, seen off by a delegation of dignitaries and soldiers.
Jammeh waved to a small gathering of supporters on the tarmac dressed in his habitual white flowing robes, and the devout Muslim kissed a Koran before waving to the crowd.
He was accompanied by Guinea’s President Alpha Conde who in the last 48 hours negotiated an exit plan for Jammeh whose details have yet to be made public.