He said that the planned invasion of Gambia by ECOWAS troops is “a declaration of war.” ECOWAS deployed troops to The Gambia on Thursday after Jammeh said he would not accept the results of December’s election, in which he lost to opposition leader Adama Barrow.
In a New Year’s message broadcast on Saturday, Jammeh said that the “blatant and one-sided” approach of ECOWAS had disqualified it from providing mediation services.
“Let me make it very clear, we are ready to defend this country against any aggression.”
Jammeh said that if ECOWAS did not back down the impasse will continue with the risk of escalation into a military confrontation.
“What we are simply and rightfully asking for is to return to the polls and allow the Gambians to elect who they want to be their President in a free and fair election.”
The 51 year old President Jammeh, who has been in power for more than two decades, lost the election which was conducted on December 1 to Barrow, a former real-estate agent.
After initially accepting the result, Jammeh later rejected it, alleging irregularities, and filed a petition to the Supreme Court which is due to be reviewed on January 10.
Barrow has insisted he will take office nine days later, as planned, with ECOWAS leaders set to attend the ceremony.
Earlier this month, ECOWAS said it would stage a military intervention, led by neighbouring Senegal, if Jammeh failed to step down and set a deadline of January 19, the day of Barrow’s planned inauguration.
The UN Security Council has called on Jammeh to “fully respect” the election results and ensure Barrow’s safety.
The electoral commission said Barrow obtained 222,708 votes (43.3 percent) compared with Jammeh’s 208,487 (39.6 percent). Jammeh has questioned the validity of the count after the electoral commission changed some results, even though it insists the outcome was not affected.
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