Jammeh agrees to cede power in The Gambia

The Gambia's former leader Yahya Jammeh is to go into exile in Equatorial Guinea, following a stop in Guinea, after stepping down from office, according to ECOWAS president Marcel de Souza.

The West African regional bloc, which sent 7,000 troops into the Gambia on Thursday, has halted military operations but some troops are to remain in the country, de Souza said.

Gambia's defeated president Yahya Jammeh has agreed to cede power to its new leader Adama Barrow, he said in a state TV address.

"I believe it is not necessary that a single drop of blood be shed," Jammeh said in a brief statement. He promised that "all the issues we currently face will be resolved peacefully."

Barrow was sworn in to office at the Gambian embassy in neighbouring Senegal on Thursday, as pressure increased on Jammeh to peacefully step aside.

Jammeh, who ruled the country for two decades, had been ordered to give up power by midday on Friday by West African leaders or be forced out by regional troops already in the country.

He initially conceded defeat to Barrow, a former north London Argos security guard, in last year's election but made a dramatic u-turn a week later.

Gambia's former leader Yahya Jammeh has asked the West African bloc ECOWAS to extend a midday deadline by four hours for him to leave power or be forced out.

Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and Guinea's President Alpha Conde arrived in the Gambian capital Banjul on Friday for last-ditch talks with Jammeh.

It is still not clear whether Jammeh intends to step down even by the new deadline which would be 4pm.

Defeated Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has been ordered to give up power by midday on Friday by West African leaders or be forced out by regional troops already in the country.

Sengalese troops entered The Gambia on Thursday but they have been told to halt their advance while negotiations continue to bring a peaceful end to the crisis.

The United Nations Security Council has backed ECOWAS's efforts to ensure Barrow assumes power, and the United States said it also supported the intervention.

The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution expressing "full support" to Gambia's new President Adama Barrow.

The body is also calling on ex-leader Yahya Jammeh to step down and have condemned his attempts to usurp power from Barrow.

• Why is there a political crisis in The Gambia?

Senegalese troops have entered The Gambia as the incumbent leader refuses to step down, a spokesperson for their army has confirmed.

Adama Barrow was sworn in as the new Gambian president despite Yahya Jammeh's refusal to leave when his mandate ended at midnight.