![\"Adama](\"http:\/\/ichef-1.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/2081\/production\/_92912380_composite.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Gambia’s President-elect, Adama Barrow, has left the country after talks failed to persuade President Yahya Jammeh to step down.<\/p>\n
Nigeria’s president flew to Banjul to try to broker a deal but Mr Jammeh would not relinquish power.<\/p>\n
Mr Barrow is now heading to Mali, where he will meet West African leaders attending a summit there.<\/p>\n
The former estate agent wants to resolve the transitional deadlock so he can be sworn in next week.<\/p>\n
President Jammeh’s term ends on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The African Union has said it will no longer recognise Mr Jammeh’s rule beyond this point.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari had flown to The Gambia’s capital, Banjul, to try to broker a deal, as the region fears the consequences of a non-peaceful transition.<\/p>\n
Ecowas, a 15-nation bloc of West African states that organised the delegation, has it said it would consider removing Mr Jammeh using military force if he refuses to step aside.<\/p>\n
Mr Barrow is travelling to Mali with the Ecowas delegation for further discussions this weekend.<\/p>\n
Mr Jammeh had initially admitted defeat after the December election. But shortly afterwards he called for the result to be annulled.<\/p>\n
The 51-year-old leader seized power in the country in 1994 and has been accused of human rights abuses, although he has held regular elections.<\/p>\n
A lawyer for Mr Jammeh filed a request with the Supreme Court on Thursday, asking for an injunction to block Mr Barrow’s swearing-in.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court is unable to hear the challenge until May because of a shortage of judges, and Mr Jammeh says he will not step down until then.<\/p>\n
There are growing fears that the uncertainty could cause a refugee exodus.<\/p>\n
Thousands of Gambians, mostly women and children, have already crossed the border into neighbouring Senegal and further afield to Guinea-Bissau, where they do not require a visa, officials say.<\/p>\n
Mr Barrow won 43.3% of the vote in December’s election, compared with Mr Jammeh’s 39.6%. A third candidate, Mama Kandeh, got 17.1%.<\/p>\n
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Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Gambia’s President-elect, Adama Barrow, has left the country after talks failed to persuade President Yahya Jammeh to step down. Nigeria’s president flew to Banjul to try to broker a deal but Mr Jammeh would not relinquish power. Mr Barrow is now heading to Mali, where he will meet West African leaders attending a summit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[2435,2436,2437],"yoast_head":"\n