ABIDJAN: Tension mounted between Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo and the international community on Monday, as the United Nations complained of rights abuses and the European Union slapped sanctions on him. Gbagbo has rejected demands he cede power to his rival Alassane Ouattara, and has instead ordered UN peacekeepers to leave the country, stirring fears the fragile West African state might plunge back into chaos. The United Nations has refused Gbagbo’s order to withdraw its 10,000-strong UNOCI force, and its chief human rights official accused Gbagbo’s security forces of involvement in dozens of alleged kidnappings and murders. The European Union decided Monday to slap visa bans on Gbagbo and 18 of his inner circle, diplomats said.
The measure will take up to 48 hours to come into force, and a decision to freeze assets for the 19 will be taken separately. Former colonial power France, the United States and Canada have also threatened sanctions, while the African Union and Ivory Coast’s West African neighbours in the ECOWAS bloc have demanded Gbagbo leave office. UN peacekeepers continue to patrol the restive port city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s sprawling commercial capital, supported by France’s 900-strong Licorne, a holdover from Paris’ formerly much larger military presence.
Both Gbagbo and Ouattara claim to have won last month’s election, and both have had themselves declared president, but the incumbent has so far retained control of the official armed forces and of Abidjan’s ministry buildings. Ouattara has been recognised as president by the international community, and is supported by the former rebel movement that controls Ivory Coast north of the 2003 ceasefire line that divides the country into two armed camps.
