By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI, Associated Press Rukmini Callimachi, Associated Press –
Tue Jan 18, 4:04 pm ET
The shooting broke out early in the morning in the neighborhood of Abobo, the largest district of this commercial capital, with more than 1.7 million residents. Most residents in Abobo voted for opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, who has been internationally recognized as the winner of the recent presidential election.
Ouattara has been unable to assume the presidency because Gbagbo refuses to leave office despite sanctions, multiple visits by African leaders and now the threat of a military ouster. As the shooting continued, an African Union envoy was in town to attempt to persuade Gbagbo to leave peacefully.
Officials at the mayor's office in Abobo said angry youths who had voted for Ouattara burned tires and police opened fire. At least one civilian was killed, said a security guard at the building who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety. Once the shooting died down, a reporter was able to enter. The heart of the neighborhood was scarred by the black marks of smoldering tires. Sporadic shots could be heard.
The gunbattle broke out as the army chiefs of staff from 15 nations belonging to the regional Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, met in Mali to discuss a military operation to remove Gbagbo. Such a move is considered a last resort because it could cause mass casualties.
"Virtually every member of ECOWAS has agreed to contribute troops," said Air Chief Marshall Oluseyi Petinrin of Nigeria, the president of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defense Staff, at the opening of the meeting. He did not give further details but said military preparations are "already well under way."
A Western diplomat briefed on the meeting said the military chiefs are expected to travel by special flight to Boake, a city in northern Ivory Coast controlled by Ouattara to conduct a reconnaissance mission. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because who asked that his name not be used because he was not authorized to give interviews.
Any military move would likely involve moving troops and equipment through the north of the country, the region where the opposition leader was born and which is staunchly pro-Ouattara. Gbagbo controls much of the south, including the institutions of power in Abidjan, the country's capital. Experts say it would be difficult to move material and soldiers through either the commercial airport or the port, both controlled by Gbagbo loyalists.
For the past 24 hours, Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga has served as an African Union mediator, shuttling between Ouattara and Gbagbo in an attempt to resolve the crisis.
French Ambassador Jean-Marc Simon told reporters after meeting Odinga along with other diplomats early Tuesday that he was "hopeful that there will be an advance before the end of the day."
He added: "The message remains the same: The military option is the last one that we would envision, but it is also not one that we will exclude."
Another diplomat present during the briefing with Odinga said the envoy reiterated the international community's offer of a graceful exit, including possible exile abroad with a monthly stipend.
But the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to press, said Odinga had laid ground rules for the discussion requiring Gbagbo to meet certain conditions, starting with the lifting of the blockade on the hotel where Ouattara is holed up. The hotel has been surrounded by loyalist troops who refuse to let anyone in or out. On his previous visit to Ivory Coast, Odinga had told reporters that Gbagbo had agreed to lift the blockade, but it remained in effect.
In New York on Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council postponed a vote on a resolution to increase the nearly 10,000-strong peacekeeping force in Ivory Coast by 2,000 troops following objections from Russia, U.N. diplomats said. The U.N. has deployed 800 troops to secure the hotel in which Ouattara is barricaded, and those troops have come under increasing attack from Gbagbo's forces.
Bosnia's U.N. ambassador, Ivan Barbalic, the current Security Council president, said members would vote on the resolution Wednesday.
"There are no disagreements, it will be adopted," he told reporters.
The United Nations special representative to Ivory Coast, Choi Young-jin, said by videoconference from Abidjan that "the political impasse is continuing" with Gbagbo asking for a power-sharing government and Ouattara saying he will only discuss this after he is president.
The international community is also trying financial sanctions, and Gbagbo's signature was recently revoked by the regional central bank where state taxes are deposited each month.
Choi said the impasse could also end if Gbagbo fails to pay the 60,000 soldiers and 140,000 civilian servants on the administration's payroll.
Once a prosperous state, Ivory Coast has become a nation perpetually in crisis following the disputed 2000 election that brought Gbagbo to power. The country was plunged into civil war in 2002, and a presidential election initially scheduled for 2005 has been delayed every year since.
When the runoff vote finally went ahead Nov. 28, it was expected to heal the nation. In a televised debate on the eve of the vote, Gbagbo vowed to respect the results issued by the country's independent electoral commission. He changed his mind several days later when the commission announced that he had lost, and the U.N. certified Ouattara's victory.
Associated Press writers Martin Vogl in Bamako, Mali, Fortune Kouassi in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment