President of The Gambia abdicates

The former president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, peacefully abdicated the presidency to president-elect Adama Barrow on Jan. 21, a day after troops from neighboring Senegal crossed the border, in support of Barrow, on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). 

Gambian military leaders and soldiers refused to resist the Senegalese soldiers, and no shots were fired during the operation. On Jan. 26, President Barrow returned to The Gambia from his self-imposed exile in Senegal.

Jammeh, who had been president of The Gambia for 22 years after taking power in a bloodless coup, lost a democratic election on Dec. 1, 2016, but had refused to step down.