Gambia's former President Yahya Jammeh has left the country in the wake of elections that ousted him after 22 years in power.
President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia. Photo: AFP
Mr Jammeh was defeated in the country's December 1 election by Adama Barrow but he went on to challenge the results.
Mr Jammeh made no comment at the airport and the destination of the jet he boarded was unclear. He was accompanied by Guinean President Alpha Conde, who mediated the terms of his departure with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and others.
As a price for leaving, Jammeh demanded amnesty, the right to go to and from Gambia and recognition for his political party, said Marcel de Souza, head of the commission of West African regional bloc ECOWAS.
"(An amnesty deal) is not finalised. The heads of state would have to give it and the AU (African Union) and the U.N. (United Nations), and it would surprise me if that is given," he told Reuters in Dakar.
The deal over Jammeh's departure focused on where he would go into exile and the issue of amnesty, mediators said.
Yahya Jammeh
- Born in May 1965
- Seized power in a coup in 1994
- In 2013, he vowed to stay in power for "a billion years" if God wills
- He also ordered the execution of criminals and political opponents on death row
- Claimed in 2007 he could cure Aids and infertility with herbal concoctions
- Warned in 2008 that gay people would be beheaded
ECOWAS President Marcel Alain de Souza said Mr Jammeh was heading to exile in Equatorial Guinea, after a brief stop in Guinea.
The organisation said it was halting military operations in Gambia, but some troops would remain in the country to maintain security.
Mr Jammeh's successor Mr Barrow told the BBC he would be returning to his homeland "sooner than later".
Mr Barrow was sworn in as president of Gambia at the Gambian embassy in Senegal on Thursday. Photo: AFP
He said said he wanted to create a truth and reconciliation committee to investigate allegations of human rights abuses during Mr Jammeh's time in office.
Mr Barrow had been in neighbouring Senegal for days and was inaugurated as president in the Gambian embassy there on Thursday.
Troops from several West African nations, including neighbouring Senegal, had been deployed in The Gambia, threatening to drive Mr Jammeh out of office if he did not agree to go.
Mr Jammeh's decision to quit came after talks with the presidents of Guinea and Mauritania.
Guinea's President Alpha Conde is with Mr Jammeh and his wife on the plane that left Banjul late on Saturday.
In an address on state television, Mr Jammeh, who had once said he would rule The Gambia for a billion years, said he would stand down and that it was "not necessary that a single drop of blood be shed".
- Reuters / BBC