Gambia's President Adama Barrow has returned to the country to assume power - days after his predecessor Yahya Jammeh left to go into exile.

Senegalese troops have entered The Gambia to ensure Adama Barrow assumes power as the country's new president, a Senegalese army spokesman has said.

After more than two decades in power, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh faced the prospect of a military intervention by regional forces, as the man who once pledged to rule the West African nation for a billion years clung to power.

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh is refusing to step down despite efforts to persuade him to leave office ahead of a deadline set by Senegal.

West African leaders promised Saturday to enforce the results of a Gambian election that was won by a little-known businessman backed by an opposition coalition but rejected by the country's longtime coup leader.

Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh has rejected the result of the presidential election held earlier this month, a week after admitting defeat.

A Gambian court freed a prominent lawyer and 18 other political prisoners on bail on Monday pending an appeal of their sentence for “unlawful assembly”, in a sign President Yahya Jammeh’s shock election defeat last week could end years of repression.

The Gambia and Tanzania have banned child marriage, with tough penalties for those who breach the rulings.

Four US citizens stood trial for sending armed men to overthrow a government and received prison terms of only up to one year. Had they attempted to have a regime change at home they would most likely have got life behind bars.