West African force in Gambia to be reduced to 500 from 7,000

The Gambian government on Friday said the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) multinational force will be cut to 500 troops from the 7,000.

The troop had been in The Gambia, from where long-time leader Yahya Jammeh was forced to flee in January, paving the way for new President Adama Barrow to take office.

Jammeh, who had ruled since seizing power in a 1994 coup, refused to accepted Barrow’s victory in a Dec. 1, 2016 election.

A statement from Barrow’s office read on state television said that the gradual scaling down of the force would begin no later than Feb. 19.

Troops from Gambia’s neighbour Senegal as well as from Ghana and Nigeria will make up the smaller operation, whose mandate begins on Feb. 21 and will last for three months.

Their mission will include protecting Barrow and other government members and institutions as trust is established between the new authorities and Gambia’s military, which was a pillar of Jammeh’s authoritarian regime.

Barrow had initially requested that the ECOWAS force’s mission be extended by six months, a senior United Nations official said late in January.