| ECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis (first three days of the intervention) | |||||||
  Top: Senegalese army troops gather at the border with Gambia on 19 January Bottom: | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| ECOWAS forces
| ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Yahya Jammeh  Benjamin Yeaten | Adama Barrow Macky Sall Muhammadu Buhari Nana Akufo-Addo Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta[7] Faure Gnassingbé[8] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~2,000 soldiers[2] | ~8,000 soldiers[4][9][10][5] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| |||||||
TheECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia or theECOWAS Mission in The Gambia (abbreviatedECOMIG)[13] – initially code-namedOperation Restore Democracy – is an ongoingmilitary intervention inThe Gambia by several member states of theEconomic Community of West African States.
Troops fromECOWAS entered The Gambia in January 2017 following long-time Gambian PresidentYahya Jammeh's refusal to step down after his loss in the2016 presidential election toAdama Barrow. This ultimately ended the2016-17 Gambian constitutional crisis.
Forces entered the country on 19 January at the request of Barrow, who was sworn in that day as the new president at the Gambian embassy inDakar,Senegal. As troops reached the capital,Banjul, Jammeh stepped down and left the country. Following his departure, 4,000 ECOWAS troops remained in The Gambia to maintain order in preparation for Barrow to return and consolidate his presidency. A week after his inauguration, Barrow returned to the country while requesting the 2,500 troops stay for at least six months to help him firmly establish order. He has renewed this request several times, and ECOWAS forces still remain in the country as of June 2025, training and assisting domestic security forces.[14][15][16]
Although there were some reports of isolated minor clashes during the first few hours of the military incursion in January 2017, there were no reports of casualties in the initial conflict. In the following months, two civilians were reported to have been killed in incidents surrounding protests against the continued military presence in the community. In January 2022, a clash occurred between ECOWAS forces and MFDC Senegalese rebels onThe Gambia–Senegal border, with four ECOWAS soldiers and one MFDC rebel killed. The clash was reported to have temporarily displaced approximately 1,000 people.
TheEconomic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decided to intervene militarily in theGambian constitutional crisis that occurred as a result ofGambian PresidentYahya Jammeh refusing to step down after losing theDecember 2016 presidential election, and set 19 January 2017 as the date the troops would move into the Gambia if Jammeh continued to refuse to step down.[17] The operation was named "Operation Restore Democracy".[18] ECOWAS forces were amassed around the borders of the Gambia, andMarcel Alain de Souza, the president of ECOWAS, said, "By land, sea and air, (the) Gambia is surrounded. A total of 7,000 men will participate in the mission to re-establish democracy in Gambia."[4] In contrast, the entire armed forces of the Gambia numbered only about 2,500 troops.[19]
On 19 January,Adama Barrow, who had been staying inSenegal due to fear for his safety in the Gambia, was sworn in asPresident in the Gambian embassy inDakar, Senegal.[20]
Just after Barrow was sworn in,[21] theUnited Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously approvedUNSC Resolution 2337 on the same day, which expressed support for ECOWAS efforts to negotiate the transition of the presidency, but requested the use of "political means first" without endorsing military action.[22]
Despite the lack of endorsement of military action by the UNSC,Senegalese armed forces entered the Gambia on the same day, along with some forces fromGhana, with air and sea support from theAir Force andNavy ofNigeria.[23][21][18] Gambia was placed under anaval blockade.[5]
In the early hours of the offensive, clashes took place near the border village ofKanilai, the home town of Yahya Jammeh, between Senegalese and pro-JammehMFDC forces, and Senegal reportedly took control of the village.[24][25] Senegal halted its offensive in order to provide a final chance to mediate the crisis, with the invasion planned to proceed at noon on 20 January if Jammeh still refused to relinquish power.[26]
According to a statement given by theUnited Nations Refugee Agency on 20 January based on estimates provided by the government of Senegal, around 45,000 people had been displaced and had fled to Senegal, and at least 800 more people had fled toGuinea-Bissau.[12] More than 75% of the displaced people arriving in Senegal were children, with the remainder being mostly women.[12]
Jammeh, however, refused to step down even after the deadline passed. The deadline was extended to 16:00 GMT which too he missed.[27]Mauritania'sPresidentMohamed Ould Abdel Aziz,President of GuineaAlpha Condé andUnited Nations' regional chiefMohammed Ibn Chambas tried to persuade him to step down.[28][29] Gambia'sarmy chief GeneralOusman Badjie meanwhile pledged allegiance to Barrow and stated that the Gambian Army would not fight ECOWAS.[30] Barrow and a Senegalese official later stated that Jammeh had agreed to step down.[31][32][33] Diplomats meanwhile stated that Senegalese troops would remain deployed at the border in case he reneged on the deal.[34] A deal was later announced for him to leave the country for exile,[35] and a short time later he announced on state television that he was stepping down.[36]
After Jammeh went into exile on 21 January (initially going toGuinea and then toEquatorial Guinea), ECOWAS announced that about 4,000 of its troops would remain stationed in the country for ensuring security.[37][38]
On 26 January 2017, Barrow returned to the Gambia, while about 2,500 ECOWAS troops remained in the country to stabilise it. He requested the troops to remain in the country for an additional six months. The troops remained in Banjul, and at important locations such as the port and airport as well as at the main crossing points to Senegal.[16]
On 8 February 2017, the Gambian presidential office announced that the mandate of the mission would be extended by three more months.[39]President of GhanaNana Akufo-Addo stated in mid-February that the number of Ghanaian soldiers deployed for stabilisation of Gambia will be downsized to 50.[40]
On 21 April 2017, ECOWAS forces clashed with Gambian soldiers loyal to former leader Yahya Jammeh, shooting and injuring three who were guarding graves at his home. A Gambia Armed Forces spokesman said there was a misunderstanding and an investigation is in progress.[41] One civilian was declared by Gambian government to have been killed inKanilai in a protest against ECOWAS forces while a civilian and anECOMIG officer was declared to be injured on 2 June, with 22 arrests made.[42]
On 2 June 2017, one protester was shot dead and nine were wounded by Senegalese soldiers in Kanilai after soldiers opened fire on protesters in what they described as "self-defense" during a protest in which thousands participated against the heavy military presence in their community.[43][44][45]
The term of the ECOWAS military mission was extended by a year on 5 June 2017, with it being further extended until 2021.[46][47] It was then continuously extended, and ECOWAS forces still remain in the country as of June 2025.[48][49][16]
The public has been lukewarm to the continued presence of ECOWAS forces, with polls showing over 50% of the Gambian public wanting them to leave the country.[50] President Barrow has argued that the continued presence of foreign forces are there to provide support and training to Gambian forces and that there is no cost to the Gambian people.[51]
In January 2022, a clash occurred between ECOWAS forces and MFDC Senegalese rebels onThe Gambia–Senegal border, with four ECOWAS soldiers and one MFDC rebel killed. The clash was reported to have temporarily displaced approximately 1,000 people. A total of 10 combatants were taken prisoner and subsequently released.
The intervention force was composed of Senegalese, Ghanaian, Malian, Togolese and Nigerian forces. Nigeria provided aircraft andnaval assets.[4][19]
TheGambian army chief declared that the army would not involve itself in a political dispute, while the navy chose to declare its support for Barrow.[52][5] However, some paramilitaries and mercenaries stayed loyal to Jammeh.[53][5][2]
The Senegalese rebel groupMovement of Democratic Forces of Casamance reportedly joined pro-Jammeh forces and there were reported clashes on the border with Senegal.[2]
United StatesAssistant Secretary of State for Public AffairsJohn Kirby announced that the United States was supportive of the intervention.[54]
TheUnited Kingdom'sSecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth AffairsBoris Johnson called on Jammeh to step down and praised "African organisations which are working to ensure the democratic wishes of the Gambian people will be respected", adding that the presidential elections had been free and fair.[55]
TheChineseMinistry of Foreign Affairs called for a "cool-headed" and calm resolution to the conflict.[56]
TheUN Security Council voted unanimously on 19 January 2017 to passUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 2337 requesting apeaceful transition of power. The resolution did not endorse the use of military force. It instead requested ECOWAS to pursue "political means first".[57][58][59]
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