Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has threatened to behead gays unless they leave the country, according to reports yesterday.

He gave gays and criminals an ultimatum to leave the country.

"Foreigners are cordially welcomed in The Gambia, but not bad elements," he said at a rally outside Banjul, Gambia's capital.

He ordered landlords and hotel owners to kick gays out of their homes before conducting a mass search by security forces, the paper reported.

He went on to say he would "cut off the head" of any gay person caught in The Gambia.

The anti-gay campaign continued in the Gambian pro-government media this week with the Daily Observer publishing a virulent editorial.

"We have said it before and we will say it again. This is a Muslim and Christian country. Both the Koran and the holy Bible condemn homosexuality - pure and simple," the paper wrote on Monday May 19.

British gay rights group Outrage said in a reaction yesterday that the Gambian leader's comments came as no surprise.

"Jammeh has a long history of homophobia," spokesman Peter Tatchell said.

"If he tries to carry out these threats, international aid donors are likely to withdraw their support, and foreign tourists will stay away in droves, thereby damaging the Gambian economy," he added.

The tourism industry is of paramount importance to Gambia's economy as the West African nation lacks other natural resources.

"The Gambian leader, Yahya Jammeh, has a long history of homophobia and has promoted crackpot cures for HIV," Tatchell said in a press release. "He'll have to kill an awful lot of Gambians and foreign aid workers and tourists to get rid of gays and lesbians."