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DAKAR/BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambian President Yahya Jammeh will not be allowed to remain head of state if he refuses to go after his elected term ends next month, and will face strong sanctions if he clings to power, the top U.N. official in West Africa said on Wednesday.

Jammeh, who took power in a coup in 1994, initially conceded defeat in the Dec. 1 election to little-known challenger Adama Barrow, raising the prospect of an end to 22 years of autocratic rule tainted by allegations of widespread human rights abuses.

But in a dramatic about-face that drew international condemnation, he then rejected the voting results last Friday, and his party is now challenging the outcome at Gambia's Supreme Court.

"For Mr. Jammeh, the end is here and under no circumstances can he continue to be president. By that time (Jan. 18), his mandate is up and he will be required to hand over to Mr. Barrow," Mohammed Ibn Chambas, U.N. Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, told Reuters.

He said Jammeh would be "strongly sanctioned" if he did not step down and hand over power to Barrow, without giving details.

Chambas accompanied a delegation of presidents representing the regional bloc ECOWAS who traveled to Gambia on Tuesday but failed to reach a deal that would see Jammeh step down.

Instead, Gambian soldiers seized the headquarters of the national elections commission and sealed it off just hours before the presidents touched down in the riverside nation.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday that the takeover was an "outrageous act of disrespect of the will of the Gambian people".

The building in the capital Banjul remained deserted on Wednesday aside from two armed security guards. Its front gate and ground floor entrances were closed.

"No one has gone to work. I didn't even try. No one has informed me that I can go back," elections commission chairman Alieu Momarr Njai said on Wednesday.

The ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction filed a challenge to the election result, even as the delegation held mediation meetings on Tuesday.

The court has not held a session for a year and a half, and legal experts believe that at least four new judges would need to be hired to hear Jammeh's petition.

"We do not believe it will be heard by a credible court dedicated to ensuring the integrity of The Gambia’s democratic process," a U.S. Embassy statement said.

Analysts have suggested that the challenge in the Supreme Court - the legal channel for resolving election disputes - could put diplomats in a difficult position.

While such disputes are relatively common in Africa, the international community generally defers to established domestic legal mechanisms for resolving them.

However, in a notable exception, U.N. troops intervened militarily alongside France to oust Ivory Coast's then-president Laurent Gbagbo after he used the constitutional court to overturn the 2010 election victory of Alassane Ouattara.

Asked whether military intervention was an option in Gambia if mediation failed, Chambas said: "It may not be necessary. Let's cross that bridge when we get there."

ECOWAS leaders will discuss Gambia at a summit in Nigeria on Saturday.

(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; writing by Emma Farge and Joe Bavier; editing by Mark Heinrich)

ens of thousands of Gambians of all ages yesterday lined the streets from Westfield to inside the Banjul International Airport in Yundum to welcome home President Adama Barrow. 

The president arrived in a white aircraft with the Ecowas logo at about 5pm, and was received at the foot of the aircraft by the only appointed member of his new cabinet, Fatoumata Jallow Tambajang, diplomats and other senior government officials. 

The president took off from Dakar, Senegal, where he was sworn in as the third president of The Gambia on 19 January 2017.

Upon arrival at the airport, Mr Barrow said: “I am a happy man today.  I think the bad part is finished now.” He promised to put in place his cabinet and set to work in earnest.

Muhammed Ibn Chambas, UN Special Representative West Africa and Sahel, said the arrival of President Barrow was historic.

“What we are witnessing here today is truly historic. Gambians have turned out in large numbers to welcome their president, and to ensure the take off of the government of President Barrow.” Mr Chambas said the United Nations working with Ecowas and other partners will continue to support the process to establish the necessary security for the new president, the vice president and the government and to allow a smooth transition from the past administration to this new one.

President Barrow led a coalition of eight opposition parties that defeated the former incumbent president, Yahya Jammeh, in the 1st December election.

Jammeh rejected the result after initially accepting it, causing a political impasse in the country that lasted for about one and half month, and nearly plunged the country into war.

At the height of the political impasse, Barrow left for Mali, courtesy of Ecowas, then to Senegal where he was sworn into office at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar.

Thanks to the success of last-ditch mediation efforts, led by the presidents of Guinea and Mauritania, Jammeh eventually left power and went into exile with his family in Equatorial Guinea.

When Jammeh left, Gambians took to the streets to celebrate with music blaring from speakers and people dancing in the streets.

Lt. General Masanneh Kinteh has been appointed as President Adama Barrow’s close military aide with immediate effect.

This appointment was announced yesterday by the Coalition Spokesperson, Halifa Sallah, at a press conference held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel.

General Kinteh will work closely with President Barrow to help him execute his duties firmly as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and security forces.

The President is banking on his vast experience, as a veteran military officer and a former Chief of Defence Staff of the Gambia Armed Forces, and as someone who has knowledge of the Gambia Armed Forces.

He was appointed deputy Chief of Mission at the Gambia Embassy in Havana, Cuba, in 2012.

After over two decades in the military, Kinteh, a seasoned officer with a wealth of command experience, is deemed competent enough to serve as President Barrow’s close aide. 

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday claimed the military had routed Boko Haram in a key northeastern stronghold, a year after saying the Islamist militants had been "technically" defeated.

A campaign lasting for months in the 1,300 square-kilometre (500 square-mile) forest in northeastern Borno state led to the "final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa Forest" on Thursday, Buhari said in a statement.

The government in Abuja and the military have frequently claimed victories against the Islamic State group affiliate but access to the epicentre of the conflict in Borno state is strictly controlled.

That has made independent verification of official statements about victories virtually impossible. Attacks have meanwhile continued, making claims of defeating Boko Haram questionable despite undoubted progress in pushing back the group.

"The terrorists are on the run, and no longer have a place to hide. I urge you to maintain the tempo by pursuing them and bringing them to justice," Buhari said.

The announcement came after Nigeria launched a barrage of land and air assaults in Borno state at the heart of the insurgency that has spread to three neighbouring countries -- Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

While the counter-insurgency has clawed back some territory, Boko Haram has responded by stepping up guerrilla tactics, ambushing troops when it can and terrorising civilians when it cannot.

Buhari's statement made no mention of the whereabouts of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram faction based in the forest.

AFP/File /The Sambisa forest, covering an area of about 1,300 square kilometres (500 square miles), was a stronghold of the Boko Haram islamists

Boko Haram, which last year pledged allegiance to IS, has been in the grips of a power struggle since late last year.

Shekau led Boko Haram for several years, until the IS command said in August that he had been replaced as leader by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the 22-year-old son of the group's founder Mohammed Yusuf.

Shekau says he is still in charge, however, as rival factions vie for control.

- Chibok girls still missing -

On Wednesday, a military commander said Nigerian troops had rescued 1,880 civilians from a Boko Haram redoubt in the restive northeast over the past week and arrested hundreds of insurgents.

Buhari also said Saturday that "further efforts should be intensified to locate and free our remaining Chibok girls still in captivity", referring to more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014. To date only a few of them have been freed.

Boko Haram seeks to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria.

The army's claim of recapturing Sambisa Forest brought a rare glimmer of hope for millions of people caught up in the devastating conflict.

But Buhari has been keen to announce any positive news, with his government increasingly under fire for its handling of the economy, which is officially in recession.

The humanitarian fallout from the conflict is also huge and aid agencies say it is too big for the country to handle on its own, heaping pressure on already overstretched resources.

Buhari has previously claimed that Boko Haram had already been "technically defeated".

His government has however struggled to stop attacks on soft targets such as markets, including the use of women and child suicide bombers.

At least 20,000 people have been killed since the insurgency erupted in 2009. The fighting has also displaced some 2.6 million people, sparking a humanitarian crisis in the region.

- 'Africa's largest crisis' -

The United Nations said earlier this month a billion dollars are needed to help victims of Boko Haram and called the conflict "the largest crisis in Africa."

It estimates that 14 million people will need outside help in 2017, particularly in Borno state, where villagers under siege have typically been forced to abandon their crops.

"A projected 5.1 million people will face serious food shortages as the conflict and risk of unexploded improvised devices prevented farmers planting for a third year in a row, causing a major food crisis," the UN said on December 2.

People freed from Boko Haram's grip by the army have generally been taken to camps where basic supplies are also scarce.

The Nigerian presidency has since accused aid groups of exaggerating the food crisis.

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo have asked telecoms companies to block social media networks from Monday, apparently to thwart protests against plans by President Joseph Kabila to stay in power beyond the end of his mandate.

Providers including Vodacom, Orange and Airtel did not immediately comment on whether they would comply, but one industry executive said all companies had signed an agreement to respect national security injunctions.

The country's top court has extended Kabila's tenure beyond the end of his two-term limit in the wake of a deal between the government and some opposition leaders to delay a vote in November to choose a successor until April 2018.

The government blocked social media networks and the Internet during protests in January 2015, justifying the measure as necessary to prevent rumours that could fuel violence. Human rights groups criticized the decision.

Kabila took power in 2001 and a campaign by the opposition to force him to step down has led to years of sporadic demonstrations and arrests. More than 50 died in protests in September and a similar number died in January 2015.

The request to block social media was made in a letter by the Regulatory Authority of the Post and Telecommunications of Congo (ARPTC), a copy of which was seen by Reuters. It listed Facebook, Twitter, Skype, YouTube and LinkedIn as services that should be blocked temporarily.

The government spokesman and telecommunications minister could not immediately be reached for comment.

In November, police in Kinshasa fired tear gas to disperse opposition supporters seeking to defy a ban on public protests and rally against Kabila, and the signals of two radio broadcasters were disabled.

Opposition leaders called new protests for this month.