ABIDJAN/WASHINGTON – African nations have promised Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo a “soft landing” in exile, a senior US official said yesterday as pressure grew on him to concede last month’s disputed election.
The West African state has been in turmoil since the November 28th vote in which Mr Gbagbo claimed victory with backing from the nation’s top legal body, rejecting as fraudulent results showing he lost by a near 8 per cent margin to rival Alassane Ouattara.
Rebels loyal to Mr Ouattara exchanged fire with the army in the capital, Abidjan, and elsewhere on Thursday while protests in Abidjan left at least 20 dead, raising worries of a return to all-out conflict in a country still split after a 2002-2003 civil war.
“There is at least one African offer of a soft landing, but it is up to him to take it,” William Fitzgerald, the state department official in charge of west African affairs, said.
He added that the United States was ready to impose travel sanctions on Mr Gbagbo, his inner circle and their families within days if the crisis remains unresolved, echoing French threats.
European Union leaders yesterday also called on Ivory Coast’s army to defect from Mr Gbagbo to Mr Ouattara, while Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga went further with a direct call for African nations to oust Mr Gbagbo by force if necessary.
“Mr Gbagbo must be forced even if it means using military means to get rid of him because now he is just relying on military power, not the people’s power, to intimidate the people,” Mr Odinga told a news conference in Nairobi. “The African Union should develop teeth.”
The Ivory Coast military is seen as divided. – (Reuters)