Image source, AFP

The world is watching The Gambia right now, as the noon deadline looms for Yahya Jammeh to relinquish power.

If he refuses, he has been threatened with being forced out by West African troops.

So the big question being asked is "What is Mr Jammeh doing right now?"

Some humorous responses have been forthcoming.

Chidi Okereke on Nigerian website Lists.ng speculates, external that he could be hiding in a box, hoping for the best, or could have escaped to Senegal disguised as a woman.

Alternatively he suggests:

FT correspondent David Pilling says he could be doing some last-minute packing:

Image source, AFP/Getty

Journalists in Banjul are tweeting that the Mauritanian and Guinean president will tell Yahya Jammeh that he must leave with them on the plane they arrived in or face being removed at gunpoint

The head of the Ecowas commission, Marcel de Souza, has said military intervention will take place "if he doesn't agree to leave The Gambia".

Mr Jammeh has already been offered asylum by Nigeria and Morocco.

Nigerian MPs voted in favour of the measure because many were concerned for the future of the Nigerians who work in The Gambia as civil servants and even as judges.

Morocco has also offered asylum. Mr Jammeh's wife Zineb was born in Morocco to a Guinean father and a Moroccan mother.

Mr Jammeh is reportedly still in the official presidential residence with his wife and son:

What will happen to him if he is effectively seized by regional troops is less clear.

Last week Mr Barrow told the BBC that there was no need for Mr Jammeh to seek asylum elsewhere.

"We want to keep Jammeh in The Gambia, I don't think there's any need for him to go to another country," he said.

On Thursday Mr Barrow's spokesperson Halifa Sallah said he would not be prosecuted by the new executive for alleged crimes committed since he took power in a bloodless coup in 1994.

Mr Sallah also said Mr Jammeh would enjoy privileges granted to ex-leaders.

Image source, Getty Images

The man behind the money transfer business WorldRemit has a fascinating tale about how he originally funded the business. 

Ismail Ahmed, who grew up in Somaliland, told the Guardian, external that he used compensation from the UN to fund the business. 

He had been working at the UN on their own money transfer project when he alerted his bosses to alleged fraud. 

But he says he lost his job.

He received £200,000 ($245,000) in compensation for the way he had been treated after making allegations

He said the compensation enabled him to develop the company without outside influence.

Some 45,000 Gambians have fled the country amid the political crisis in the country, the UN's refugee agency says.

Neighbouring Senegal has aid ready for up to 100,000 refugees, UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said.

Senegalese music icon Youssou Ndour met internationally-recognised Gambian president Adama Barrow and his two wives after his inauguration at the Gambian embassy in Dakar on Thursday and has since called on all Senegalese and Gambians to welcome him into office.

Mr Barrow is remaining in Senegal until any military operation to remove longtime ruler Yahya Jammeh has ended.

Mr Ndour attempted to run for president in Senegal in 2012 but was disqualified. He then backed the eventual winner Macky Sall.

The Gambia Voices group has tweeted a video of Yahya Jammeh's photo being replaced by that of the internationally recognised President Adama Barrow at the country's mission in the UN in New York.

Nick Cavell
BBC Africa Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Senegal know that they will stay in Franceville for their quarter final after they guaranteed top place in Group B with a 2-0 win over Zimbabwe on Thursday. 

Sadio Mane with his second of the tournament and Henri Saivet score the goals for the Teranga Lion - but it really should have been a larger margin of victory given their dominance and the chances that they created. 

In the day’s other game Tunisia earned a 2-1 win over Algeria in the North African derby. 

The Tunisians managed to stifle the creativity of Riyad Mahrez for most of the second half and the Algerians struggled to find other options with their goal coming as a consolation really in the final minutes of the game. 

The results mean Tunisia need only a draw against Zimbabwe to progress. 

Zimbabwe and Algeria both have an outside chance of progressing – not only do they have to win their respective games but they also need the other to win as well - even then it would come down to goal difference.

Today it is the second matches in Group C in Oyem as Ivory Coast take on Morocco, who are now coached by Herve Renard the man who lead the Elephants to the Nations Cup title in 2015.

The other game is Claude LeRoy’s Togo up against one of his former teams and one of his former assistant coaches in DR Congo and Florent Ibenge.

Thomas Fessy
BBC News, Banjul

On the tarmac at the airport in Banjul the red carpet is in place and officials are waiting for the presidents of Guinea and Mauritania to land. 

Soldiers here are smiling and friendly. 

Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the UN's regional envoy to West Africa who has repeatedly said that longtime ruler Yahya Jammeh must step down, is here. 

In the city itself, things remain quiet this morning and shops and businesses are still closed. 

There is a feeling that the end of the political crisis is close but everybody is anxiously waiting to hear what Mr Jammeh will tell the presidents of Guinea and Mauritania. 

The head of the Ecowas commission, Marcel de Souza, has suggested Mr Jammeh could be flown to Guinea before deciding on his fate. 

Interestingly, Mauritania is not a member state of Ecowas and the Guinean president, Alpha Conde, has repeatedly voiced his opposition to a regional military action, arguing that diplomacy should prevail instead.

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

Any military intervention in the Gambia by West African troops needs to be carefully considered. What happened in a similar situation in Lesotho in 1998 -  when South African soldiers backed by Botswana invaded the tiny land-locked kingdom of Lesotho with the aim of restoring order - offers a cautionary tale.

Just as the Gambia is sandwiched by Senegal geographically, Lesotho lies completely within South African borders. There was chaos in the streets of the capital Maseru following a disputed election and a coup.

A statement by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said an intervention had been requested by the Lesotho government under the provisions of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), an equivalent of the regional body, ECOWAS.

Nelson Mandela, who was president at the time, sanctioned the intervention, carried out by his acting president Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, while he was out of the country.

Mr Mandela had said the invasion was essential to end “chaos and anarchy”.

Gambian forces in Banjul do not appear to be gearing up to resist any military intervention for now, but in Lesotho there was an unexpected resistance and 58 of their troops died.

Nine South African soldiers were killed.

The fighting was followed by looting and general chaos devastated the mountain kingdom’s capital. Many residents blamed it on the invasion.

There are many people in this part of the African continent watching from a distance, hoping that the same unintended consequence does not play itself out this time around, 18 years after the Lesotho invasion.

Image source, Getty Images

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he is alarmed at reports that children may constitute a large part of the force recruited and used by al-Shabab militants in Somalia, AP reports. 

Mr Guterres said it is estimated that more than half its force are children and said that at least 60% of al-Shabab "elements" captured in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region in March 2016 were children. 

In a report to the UN Security Council circulated this week, he said children were used in combat, with nine-year-olds reportedly taught to use weapons and sent to front lines. 

Children were also used in operations with explosive devices, as spies, and for carrying ammunition or performing domestic chores, he said. 

While al-Shabab was the main perpetrator, the report said the Somali army and other groups also recruited and used children. 

Former Gambian foreign minister Sidath Diop has told the BBC that Mr Jammeh has defied West African leaders because he believes his army will fight for him.

However Mr Jammeh commands little loyalty in the armed forces, Mr Diop said.

Mr Jammeh believes he "owns The Gambia" and does not know how to respond to the looming end of his reign, the former minister said.   

"It is the sky that has fallen on him and he doesn't know how to go away. People understand this and they are giving him a lot of chances," he said.

The latest ultimatum is for him to give up by noon or face removal by force.

Reports say Yahya Jammeh has dissolved his cabinet following mass resignations and plans to oversee all government ministries himself as he clings to power.

Video has emerged that appears to show Yahya Jammeh's army chief Ousman Badjie dancing on the streets with Gambian citizens following the inauguration of internationally recognised President Adama Barrow:

If confirmed it would represent a u-turn by Gen Badjie, who had pledged his loyalty to Mr Jammeh after the election.

Adama Barrow and his team had believed they had Gen Badjie's support, but after Mr Jammeh challenged the December election result he wrote a letter to a pro-government newspaper pledging the "unflinching loyalty and support of the Gambia Armed Forces".

Image source, Reuters

A botched air strike by the Nigerian Air Force earlier this week on a camp for people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency killed at least 90 people, the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) aid group has said, external.

The MSF statement says that outside of what MSF teams have witnessed, residents say as many as 170 people were killed. 

It adds that most of the victims were women and children and aid was being distributed at the time of the attack. 

"A Nigerian air force plane circled twice and dropped two bombs in the middle of the town of Rann" it said. 

Nigeria's military has apologised for the "accidental" bombing, which it said was due to "the fog of war", but Human Rights Watch has said this does not absolve them of responsibility, calling for compensation for the victims.  

Image source, AFP/Getty

Gambian strongman Yahya Jammeh, has been given until noon local time to leave office, or be removed by a UN backed intervention force. 

Negotiations led by the Guinean president, Alpha Conde are due to be held in the coming hours. 

Troops representing the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) - who entered The Gambia on Thursday night - have halted operations to allow a last attempt at mediation. 

There's been no word yet from Mr Jammeh, who's refusing to step down, despite losing an election. 

His successor, Adama Barrow, was sworn in on Thursday at the Gambian mission in Senegal.

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