Gambians, tourists flee on eve of deadline for leader to surrender power

A man looks out from the roof of a van full with Gambian refugee children as they wait for more passengers to arrive by canoe in Niafarang, Senegal, January 17, 2017. Picture taken January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Emma Farge

BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambians and tourists were boarding buses, packing suitcases onto trucks and hiring canoes to flee the capital on Wednesday, as President Yahya Jammeh clung to power on the eve of his rival Adama Barrow's planned swearing in.

Jammeh, a former soldier who once vowed to rule for "a billion years", is refusing to step down, despite condemnation from regional leaders and even the threat of an imminent invasion by West African troops to enforce his election defeat.