Exiled former leader accused of ‘stealing’ state funds as regional troops prepare to secure arrival of President Barrow. The Gambia’s ex-ruler, Yahya Jammeh, plundered the state coffers in his final weeks in power, stealing millions of dollars and shipping out luxury vehicles by cargo plane, according to an aide to new president Adama Barrow.

Jammeh, who ruled the small West African country for 22 years, flew into exile late on Saturday to Equatorial Guinea.

He had refused to concede defeat in a December 1 election but eventually relinquished power after a delegation of West African leaders convinced him to step down, even as troops from neighbouring countries entered The Gambia.

On Sunday, hundreds of Banjul residents cheered a military force by ECOWAS, the West African regional bloc, as it entered the capital to provide security and allow Barrow, who has been in neighbouring Senegal for more than a week, to return and take power.

But amid growing controversy over the assurances offered to Jammeh to guarantee his departure, Barrow adviser Mai Fatty said the new administration had discovered that millions of dollars had recently been stolen.

“The coffers are largely empty,” he told reporters in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.

“Over two weeks, over 500m dalasi ($11 million) were withdrawn” by Jammeh, he said. “As we take over, the government of The Gambia is in financial distress.”

Fatty also said that a Chadian cargo plane had transported luxury goods out of the country on Jammeh’s behalf, in his final hours in power, including an unknown number of vehicles.

Barrow’s aide said officials at the Banjul airport have been ordered not to allow any of Jammeh’s belongings to leave.

Fatty also said the president is eager to return to The Gambia “as soon as possible”, warning, however, that “the state of security in The Gambia is still fragile.”

‘No legislative measures’

The regional military operation was first launched late on Thursday after Barrow was sworn in as president at Gambia’s embassy in Senegal, but it was halted hours later to give Jammeh one last chance to leave peacefully.

His departure followed two days of negotiations led by Guinea President Alpha Conde and Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania, prompting speculation over what, if any, terms were agreed upon to convince him to step down.

“He wanted to stay in Gambia,” Barrow told radio station RFM in Senegal. “We said we couldn’t guarantee his security and said that he should leave.”

Barrow, who says he plans to establish a commission to investigate alleged human rights abuses by Jammeh’s regime, denied that the former ruler had been offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for leaving the country.

Critics have raised concerns over the wording of a statement issued by the United Nations, ECOWAS and the African Union that seemed to offer Jammeh comfortable guarantees for his future.

“No legislative measures” would be taken that would infringe the “dignity, security, safety and rights” of Jammeh or his family, it said, noting that property “lawfully” belonging to him would not be seized.

Equatorial Guinea is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court, meaning Jammeh would not be extradited in the event he was charged with crimes against humanity or other serious offences.

The declaration also said Jammeh’s exile was “temporary” and that he reserved the right to return to the Gambia at the time of his choosing.

“The agreement essentially says there can be no prosecution against Jammeh, his family or his entourage; there will be no seizure of his assets, no witch-hunts, and he can be back to the country at any time, ” Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, reporting from Dakar, said.

“It might sound like a good deal for Jammeh, but we have to bear in mind that this is a political document, not a legally binding one, so it still brings hopes for those wanting to prosecute Jammeh or those in the security services over alleged human rights violations.”

In Banjul, hundreds of residents assembled outside the State House on Sunday, as ECOWAS soldiers moved in to secure the compound.

Cheering and singing, some sought to capture the moment for posterity, posing for photos with the Senegalese troops.

“We are free,” food seller Isatou Toure, 35, told Reuters news agency. “Everyone is so happy that man is gone. We are happy to see (the soldiers). They protected us from Jammeh.”

Senegalese army officials said the force, which also includes troops from Nigeria, Ghana and Mali, met no resistance as they advanced on Sunday.

Defence chief Ousmane Badjie said the military welcomed the arrival of the regional force “wholeheartedly.” With proper orders, he said, he would open the doors to the notorious prisons where rights groups say many who have disappeared over the years may be kept.

“We are going to show Barrow, we are really armed forces with a difference, I swear to God,” Badjie said.

Some of the 45,000 people who had fled the tiny country during the crisis began to return. The nation of 1.9 million has been a major source of migrants heading towards Europe because of the situation at home.

The African Union says it will cease to recognise Yahya Jammeh as The Gambia’s legitimate president after last-ditch attempts to persuade the longtime leader to step down failed.

Jammeh, a former coup leader who has ruled the country since 1994, lost a December 1 election to Adama Barrow by a slim margin. He initially conceded defeat but a week later contested the poll’s results, stating irregularities.

He now refuses to give up power.

Inside Story – Can a showdown be averted in Gambia?

In a statement issued after a meeting in the Ethiopian capital on Friday, the AU’s Peace and Security Council warned of “serious consequences” if Jammeh’s actions lead to political disorder and the “loss of innocent lives”.

It also called on The Gambia’s security forces to “exercise utmost restraint” leading up to the inauguration.

President-elect Barrow also called for direct talks with Jammeh to discuss the peaceful handover of power.

A delegation of West African officials including Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Ghana’s President John Mahama met Jammeh in the capital Banjul on Friday.

They tried to persuade him on behalf of regional bloc ECOWAS to make an honourable exit, rather than risk dragging the country into crisis or civil war.

“Only God knows whether Jammeh will accept to step down,” Buhari said.

While ECOWAS has voiced its commitment to seeking a peaceful solution to the impasse, it has also hinted at possible military action if Jammeh stays on beyond the end of his term next week.

“This talk is very, very crucial because it is on the basis of this talk that everybody can now begin to see which option to take,” said Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, also part of the delegation.

Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, reporting from Dakar in neighbouring Senegal, said Gambians were worried that the issue could escalate into a violent conflict.

“Troops in Senegal and in Nigeria are on standby,” he said.

“Meanwhile Adama Barrow will be travelling to neighbouring Mali where he will be meeting the heads of West African states to explore all options – as Jammeh and his security forces grow increasingly isolated.”

Earlier this week, Gambia’s dysfunctional Supreme Court delayed hearing Jammeh’s petition until Monday, since only one out of five judge was present.

But experts say it is highly unlikely that four additional judges will be present on Monday, because the Supreme Court has not been operational since Jammeh fired several of the court’s judges in mid-2016.

All other eligible Court of Appeal judges left the country after the December election.

The Ivory Coast’s government and mutinying troops have reached a final deal at talks in Bouake, government sources said, shortly after talks were interrupted by gunfire at barracks across the country.

Hours before the agreement, troops sealed off the northern city of Korhogo and the second largest city, Bouake, where they surrounded the building in which the defence minister was negotiating the deal. However, he left the talks unharmed.

“A deal has been reached in Bouake between the chief of staff, the defence minister and the troops,” a source close to the presidency told AFP late on Friday.

Several of the rebelling soldiers also confirmed that a deal had been struck, with one telling AFP: “We are pleased, we’ve reached an agreement”.

Soldiers in Bouake mutinied earlier this month, firing rocket-launchers and terrifying residents of Bouake, while demanding bonuses, better pay and housing.

The protests then spread to other cities, including the economic capital Abidjan.

The mutiny saw President Alassane Ouattara order major changes in the top security ranks, the armed forces’ chief of staff, the senior commander of the national gendarmerie and the director-general of the police.

“The troops have agreed to return to their barracks, and for this reason gunfire has halted in Bouake,” a local official said. He said the mutineers had managed to obtain a bonus of about $8,000.

While an initial deal had been reached almost a week ago, talks on implementing the agreement only began on Friday and tensions were high with mutinying troops taking up positions on the roads into Bouake and firing into the air.

Regular gunfire was heard throughout the day, including at Akouedo, the biggest barracks in Abidjan and at Odienne in the northwest and Bondoukou in the east.

One source said the soldiers had originally been demanding a raise of about $16,000 each, a significant amount given that many Ivorians earn about $160 a month.

It remains to be seen how the government will finance its promise of the agreed $8,000 bonus.

The Ivorian army, which consists of about 22,000 soldiers, includes many former rebels who were integrated into the armed forces after years of conflict.

“The president is honouring the promises that he made towards former rebels who fought alongside him back in 2010’s civil war,” Kamissa Camara, a senior programme officer for West and Central Africa at the National Endowment for Democracy, told Al Jazeera.

“Not only that, but he is also honouring the promises made by the former leaderships towards the army.

“So they have a big task ahead of them to make sure that the situation remains stable,” Camara said, adding that the mutiny has tainted the political situation of the country.

Bouake, which is home to 1.5 million people, was the cradle of a rebellion which erupted in 2002 in a failed attempt to oust then-president Laurent Gbagbo.

The revolt sliced the former French colony into the rebel-held north and the government-controlled south and triggered years of unrest.

Twelve years later, a similar dispute over pay by rebels-turned-soldiers erupted in Bouake which spread to Abidjan and briefly brought the country to a standstill.

The government then agreed to a deal that provided amnesty for the mutineers and a financial settlement.

Bouake, which is home to 1.5 million people, was the cradle of a rebellion which erupted in 2002 in a failed attempt to oust then-president Laurent Gbagbo.

The revolt sliced the former French colony into the rebel-held north and the government-controlled south and triggered years of unrest.

Twelve years later, a similar dispute over pay by rebels-turned-soldiers erupted in Bouake which spread to Abidjan and briefly brought the country to a standstill.

The government then agreed to a deal that provided amnesty for the mutineers and a financial settlement.

Gambia’s security forces have entered the building of the Independent Electoral Commission, instructed its chairman to leave and barred other employees from entering, according to the commission chairman.

Tuesday’s developments came as West African heads of state began arriving in the country to try to convince long-term President Yahya Jammeh to relinquish power after losing an election this month.

“The military came to my office and said I am not to touch anything and told me to leave,” Alieu Momar Njie, the electoral commission’s chairman, said.

“I am worried for my safety.”

The Independent Electoral Commission had announced the news of Jammeh’s defeat at the hands of Adama Barrow.

The delegation is headed by Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace laureate and the current chairwoman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The delegation also includes Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone leader Ernest Bai Koroma and outgoing Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama.

The African Union said in a statement late on Monday that it also planned to send a high-level delegation, led by Chad’s long-ruling President Idriss Deby, to facilitate a “peaceful and speedy” transfer of power.

The streets of the Gambian capital Banjul were calm on Tuesday, with a high security presence, witnesses said.

Armed guards surrounded a hotel where the delegation was due to meet Barrow, Gambia’s president-elect , later on Tuesday.

Barrow has said that he will annul Jammeh’s declaration of Gambia as an Islamic republic.

Irregularities alleged

Jammeh initially conceded defeat after official results showed that Gambians voted in Barrow on December 1.

However, last week Jammeh said that he no longer accepted his election loss and called for another vote, saying there were irregularities.

Jammeh’s ruling party said late on Saturday that his statement was simply a prelude to the party challenging the results in a petition to the Supreme Court.

By law, election results can be contested up to 10 days after the vote.