ABUJA – West African leaders met in the final day of a summit on Thursday under pressure to take action over Ivory Coast amid reports that thousands more people were fleeing fighting in the crisis-ridden nation. Leaders from West African bloc ECOWAS were expected to issue a statement on the Ivory Coast crisis later in the day, after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said they may ask the United Nations to take further action. The summit comes three months after 15-nation ECOWAS threatened to use force to oust Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo, but he has defied calls to step down and the country now stands on the brink of civil war.
Heads of state from the Economic Community of West African States went behind closed doors Thursday to push ahead with discussions, but they appeared to have few options with the use of force seemingly put on the back burner. One observer said any decision from the two-day summit would likely be symbolic since the UN is limited in taking any further action and the West African bloc lacks the ability to enforce sanctions if it were to approve them. “We’re not going to see a Libya-like situation here with no-fly zones and things like that,” said Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme for London-based think tank Chatham House and a former UN sanctions inspector.
“It’s not good news for the average Ivorian because it means this worrying situation can deteriorate further. He added that “I just hope they realise what a dangerous situation this is — the leadership on all sides. There is a real danger of this becoming an open civil war.” ECOWAS has recognised Gbagbo’s rival Alassane Ouattara as president, as much of the world has also done, and suspended Ivory Coast from the bloc. But the potential use of force seems to have been put aside for now. Nigerian Foreign Minister Odein Ajumogobia has said the UN must endorse any use of force to remove Gbagbo, adding that a blockade was an option if peaceful efforts fail.
That has raised questions over whether such a measure would face opposition at the UN Security Council from countries such as China or Russia. The crisis has meanwhile only intensified following the disputed November election, with violent clashes between pro-Gbagbo forces and those backing Ouattara. According to the UN, at least 440 people have been killed. There were reports late Wednesday of thousands of people fleeing fighting between troops loyal to Gbagbo and those of Ouattara in the west of the country.
