JANUARY 8, 2017 – Rising from a meeting among regional leaders in Ghana’s capital Accra, Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told reporters on Saturday that the ECOWAS regional bloc did not yet intend to deploy standby military force in Gambia.
However, Sirleaf noted that West African leaders are still pursuing mediation to ensure a peaceful transfer of power in The Gambia where President Yahya Jammeh refused to accept defeat in an election last month.
“We are committed to a peaceful mediation and a peaceful transfer of power in The Gambia. We will continue to pursue that for now,” said Sirleaf who chairs the 15-member body.
Asked if the regional group would deploy a standby force soon, she said “no”, adding that ECOWAS was closely monitoring proceedings in The Gambia’s Supreme Court where Jammeh is challenging the poll result.
