Nigeria sends peacekeepers to Gambia

Nigeria said it will deploy 197 peacekeepers to Gambia to back the ECOWAS’s peace and stability mandate.

Troops from ECOWAS entered The Gambia in January 2017 following long-time Gambian President Yahya Jammeh’s refusal to step down after losing the 2016 presidential election to Adama Barrow.

This intervention ultimately resolved the 2016-17 Gambian constitutional crisis, and ECOWAS forces remain in the country to maintain order and assist domestic security forces.

The name of the mission was changed from Operation Restore Democracy to ECOWAS Mission in the Gambia (ECOMIG).