Gambian President Yahya Jammeh is refusing to step down despite efforts to persuade him to leave office ahead of a deadline set by Senegal.
Adama Barrow is due to be inaugurated as the new president on Thursday, and West African military forces are poised to move in.
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz met Mr Jammeh for last-minute talks before flying on to meet Senegal's President Macky Sall.
Mr Barrow won elections last month.
Senegalese troops remain stationed at the Gambian border, as the deadline for Mr Jammeh to stand down passed at midnight.
The threat of military action is supported by Nigeria and other states in the region.
However Gambian army chief Ousman Badjie said his troops would not fight Senegalese forces should they enter into the country, AFP news agency reports.
"We are not going to involve ourselves militarily, this is a political dispute," he said. "I am not going to involve my soldiers in a stupid fight. I love my men."
Mr Jammeh has ruled The Gambia since taking power in a coup in 1994.
Wednesday was meant to be his last day in office but parliament granted him three more months in the post.
Mr Barrow, who was said to be preparing to be sworn in as president "on Gambian soil" on Thursday, remains in neighbouring Senegal.
At least 26,000 Gambians, fearful that violence could erupt, sought refuge in Senegal this week.
Meanwhile, thousands of UK and Dutch tourists continue to be evacuated from the tiny West African state on special charter flights. Gambia is a popular beach destination among European holidaymakers, especially in winter.
Why is Mr Jammeh refusing to leave office?
Mr Jammeh initially accepted that Mr Barrow had won the election but later reversed his position and said he would not step down.
He declared a 90-day state of emergency calling for "peace, law and order" after what he said were irregularities in the election process.
He said that along with errors made by the electoral commission, some of his supporters were turned away from polling stations.
The commission later accepted that some of the results it initially published contained errors, but said they would not have affected Mr Barrow's win.
Mr Jammeh has said he will stay in office until new elections are held.
Retaining power would also ensure he was not prosecuted in The Gambia for alleged abuses committed during his rule.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-38672840

k

God bless you, GEJ

To all leaders.

Your political aspirations is not worth the blood of anybody.

The truth is that if there's no protest against the guy and there's no killing of protesters by his regime, there's little Buhari and his ECOWAS army can do.

The country has its sovereignty.