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Côte d'Ivoire

Ecowas meets on Côte d'Ivoire as Mbeki mediation fails to deliver

West African leaders meet in Nigeria on Tuesday for a special summit intended to help resolve the election standoff in Côte d'Ivoire. This comes following the end of former South African president Thabo Mbeki’s mediation visit which failed to resolve the deadlock.

Alassane Ouattara (L), Thabo Mbeki (C) et Laurent Gbagbo (R).
Alassane Ouattara (L), Thabo Mbeki (C) et Laurent Gbagbo (R). Montage RFI / Pierre Moussart
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Leaders belonging to Ecowas, the Economic Community of West African States, have met to discuss the crisis on Tuesday.

“The president of the Ecowas commission will brief them on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire,” Sunny Ugoh, Ecowas spokesperson, told RFI.

“There will also be statements by [Burkina Faso’s] President Blaise Compaoré and by the special rep of the UN secretary general in Côte d'Ivoire. That will give them a global picture of the situation,” said Ugoh.

He added that at the end of the meeting a statement is expected detailing what they will do next to help resolve the crisis.

Ecowas previously said that Gbagbo should accept the decision of the electoral commission which declared Alassane Ouattara winner of the presidential election.

On Monday after being sent to the Côte d'Ivoire by the African Union, mediator Mbeki made no significant statement following meetings with rivals Laurent Gbagbo and Ouattara.

“You will not have peace without democracy, and neither democracy without peace,” said Mbeki.

“When it reflects on the report we will submit, its task [the AU] is to say, what is it that it can do very urgently, to assist and work with the people of Côte d'Ivoire,” he added.

At least 20 people have been killed in Côte d'Ivoire in election-related violence since the disputed poll, Amnesty International said on Monday.

On Tuesday, the United Nations began evacuating non-essential staff from Ivory Coast for fear of unrest in a political standoff after disputed elections.
 

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