Gambia tourists evacuated as crisis deepens

Thousands of mainly British and Dutch tourists are being flown back from Gambia amid a deepening political crisis over longtime President Yahya JammehÕs refusal to give up power

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Banjul airport: Tour operators planning to evacuate up to 3,500 British and over 1,800 

Dutch and Belgian tourists

Atlantic Ocean

Banjul

River Gambia

GAMBIA

SENEGAL

50km 30 miles

SENEGAL

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ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA

Population: 1.9m

Area: 11,295 sq km

Life expectancy: 58 years (men), 61 years (women)

Background: Largely stable history since independence from Britain in 1965. Country under increasingly authoritarian rule of President Yahya Jammeh (above left) following bloodless coup in 1994

Economy

GDP: $938.8 million (2015)

GDP growth: 4.7% (2015)
GNI per capita: $460 (2014)
Inflation: 5.9% (2014)
Jobless rate: 30.2% (2014 est.)
Poverty rate: 48.4% (2010)
Main industries: Agriculture (mainly peanut production), fishing, tourism

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Dec 1, 2016: Gambia holds presidential election Ð Jammeh loses to Adama Barrow (above right)

Dec 9: Jammeh rejects result, citing voting irregularities

Dec 23: Regional bloc ECOWAS threatens military action if diplomacy fails to persuade Jammeh to concede

Jan 15: Senegal offers to shelter Barrow until Jan 19 inauguration

Jan 17-18: Jammeh declares state of emergency. GambiaÕs parliament votes to extend his term by three months. Tourist evacuations begin
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Sources: World Bank, UN Data, wire agencies

Pictures: Getty Images

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