Cape Town - The small West African nation of Gambia has been plunged into a political crisis since autocrat Yahya Jammeh refused to accept the result of presidential elections which saw him lose power to Adama Barrow.
West African leaders have offered Jammeh - who ruled Gambia for 22 years with an iron fist - a last chance to step down, shortly after Barrow was sworn into office in neighbouring Senegal on Thursday.
As the clock ticks down for Jammeh, here's what you need to know about Gambia:
The West African nation of Gambia gained
independence in 1965. It is the smallest country on mainland Africa
and almost entirely surrounded by Senegal.
Because of its sparse natural resources, Gambia's economy relies
heavily on agriculture, with peanuts being its largest export good.
Tourism is another important industry, boosted by the country's long
stretch of pristine, white beaches.
Nonetheless, Gambia remains one of the world's poorest countries with
48 per cent of its 1.9 million people living in poverty, according to
the World Bank.
Thousands of Gambians leave their country every year, in the hope of
migrating to wealthier nations.
Since independence, Gambia was led by President Sir Dawda Kairaba
Jawara, who was re-elected five times.
A 1981 violent coup attempt, which saw hundreds of people killed in
one week, failed after Jawara managed to defeat the rebels with the
support of Senegalese troops.
A year later, Senegal and Gambia formed the Senegambia Confederation,
aimed to unify economies, currencies and armed forces. But Gambia
withdrew from the confederation in 1989 due to political tensions.
A second but bloodless coup in 1994 saw Yahya Jammeh, 51, take power.
Jammeh ruled Gambia, which he declared an Islamic Republic in 2015,
for 22 years with an iron fist.
Jammeh's government was widely accused of corruption, human rights
abuses and an incessant crackdown on the political opposition,
government critics and journalists.
Jammeh won presidential elections in 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011 with a
large majority. All of them were unsuccessfully contested by the
opposition and were followed by violence and arrests.
During polls on December 1, 2016, Jammeh was defeated for the first
time, by Adama Barrow, a political newcomer and real estate mogul.
The nation has been in a political deadlock since Jammeh filed a
court petition to challenge the result and announced he will not step
down on January 18 as scheduled.
Barrow has sought refuge in Senegal for security reasons. He was
sworn into office in the Gambian embassy in Dakar on January 19.