The Gambia's ministers for finance, foreign affairs, trade and the environment have resigned from President Yahya Jammeh's government, according to ministry sources and state television.
The resignations were announced on Tuesday less than a day after the country's Chief Justice Emmanuel Fagbenle pulled out of a case filed by Jammeh seeking to stop the inauguration of President-elect Adama Barrow.
Fagbenle said late on Monday that he could not hear the new case, dealing a blow to Jammeh's efforts to halt the inauguration of Barrow, who remains in Senegal.
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The inauguration is scheduled for Thursday, when Barrow is expected to return from Senegal.
"Given that the injunction affects me in my capacity as the chief justice, I will recuse myself from hearing it," he said.
"The motion therefore waits for the constitution of the Supreme Court or allow the judges to arrive in The Gambia."
Edward Gomez, a lawyer for Jammeh's party, conceded that it was "certainly not possible under these circumstances" to have an injunction barring Barrow from being sworn in.
On Tuesday, Morocco's Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar and a top secret service official arrived in The Gambian capital Banjul to hold talks with Jammeh, Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque reported from neighbouring Senegal.
There have been talks of a possible asylum or exile for Jammeh to an African country, in exchange for him stepping down.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, right, has appealed to Jammeh, centre, to step down twice in person without success [AFP] |