Gambia's President Adama Barrow has finally returned home Thursday, to solidify his position as the country's first new commander in chief in two decades after a political crisis that sent the previous ruler into exile. Gambians eagerly awaited Barrow at the airport in Banjul amid tight security. Barrow defeated Jammeh in December elections, but the veteran leader did not want to cede power.

Barrow was sworn into office on Jan. 19 at the Gambian Embassy in neighboring Senegal because of security threats as Jammeh clung to power.

Jammeh finally left Gambia last weekend, bowing to international pressure that included a regional military force, ending a more than 22-year rule. The West African troops were poised to oust Jammeh if diplomatic talks failed.

There are currently 2,500 of the ECOWAS troops still in Gambia — in the capital, Banjul, as well as at key crossing points between Gambia and Senegal and at the port and airport, according to Sweden's U.N. Ambassador Olof Skoog, the current U.N. Security Council president.