Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) – Gambian president-elect Adama Barrow was to be sworn in Thursday at the country’s embassy in Senegal as incumbent Yahya Jammeh stood firm, refusing to quit despite threats of military intervention.

A regional force massed on the Senegal-The Gambia border ahead of a UN Security Council vote due at 1800 GMT Thursday expected to endorse west African efforts to ensure a transfer of power.

Barrow’s inauguration was due to take place at the Gambian embassy in Dakar at 4:00 pm (1600 GMT), his spokesman Halifa Sallah told AFP.

Two giant screens were to be set up outside the small embassy premises and a live transmission provided by state broadcaster RTS.

As Jammeh’s mandate expired at midnight (0000 GMT) with no sign of him stepping down after 22 years at the helm, troops from Nigeria and Ghana were to join hundreds of Senegalese soldiers massing on the front.

Shops were shuttered and streets quiet in and around the capital Banjul, and tour operators evacuated hundreds more tourists from the tiny country’s popular beach resorts.

In off the cuff remarks, army chief Ousman Badjie insisted however that his soldiers would not get involved in a “political dispute” or prevent foreign forces from entering the west African nation. 

– Inauguration to go ahead –

Barrow, a real-estate agent turned politician who won a presidential vote on December 1, flew to Senegal on January 15 after weeks of rising tension over Jammeh’s refusal to step down.

Jammeh initially acknowledged Barrow as the election victor but later rejected the result.

He attempted to block Barrow’s inauguration with a court ruling and by declaring a state of emergency this week.

Speaking to AFP by phone, a senior member of Barrow’s opposition coalition, Isatou Touray, welcomed the army chief’s declaration that his troops would not prevent Jammeh’s removal by force.

“That’s a very positive outlook from him, given that Jammeh’s regime is done,” Touray said. 

“We don’t have to risk the lives of innocent citizens.”

In remarks at a hotel restaurant late Wednesday, Badjie said he loved his men and wouldn’t risk their lives in a “stupid fight,” witnesses said. 

– ‘Really scary’- 

Arriving back from The Gambia at Manchester airport in northern England, several passengers could be seen comforting a Gambian national and UK resident who had tried unsuccessfully to get his family out.

Speaking to AFP, Ebrima Jajne described the situation as “really scary for everybody… because this president (Jammeh) doesn’t want to step down and people are fleeing.”

Tourist Ralph Newton said local residents had done what they could to reassure visitors, despite the threat to themselves.

“All the locals were just worried… They said it’s a bad time for us but you’ll be alright… It’ll be us they come for, if they come for anybody.”

And Sara Wilkins, another tourist, said they had struggled to get clear information on the developing situation. 

“We weren’t told anything… I kept phoning (tour operator) Thomas Cook and they were just like… don’t worry about it,” she told AFP.

“I rang Thomas Cook again this morning and they said pack your bags, you’ve got to go.”

Despite the build-up along the border, an army source told AFP Senegalese troops were “not yet” present on Gambian soil.

– Eyes on border –

After 11th-hour talks in Banjul, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz flew on to Dakar where he held a meeting with Barrow at which Senegal’s President Macky Sall was also present, the private RFM radio station reported.

It was not clear whether the Mauritanian leader had secured a deal or made an asylum offer to Jammeh. 

The last-minute intervention came after several unsuccessful attempts at diplomacy by the 15-nation Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS).

Mauritania is not part of ECOWAS and diplomats have previously reached out to the conservative desert nation in hopes of brokering a deal with Jammeh.

ECOWAS heads the regional force massing on Gambian-Senegalese border.

Speaking to AFP at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Amnesty International chief Salil Shetty hailed ECOWAS efforts to resolve the crisis. 

“ECOWAS has stood up, and they don’t always do that, he said. 

“It’s an important message to Jammeh, both from the people of The Gambia, the people of Africa, and from neighbouring states, that it’s not business as usual anymore.”