Clashes in Côte d'Ivoire as African leaders arrive

Fresh clashes erupted between supporters of Côte d’Ivoire’s rival presidents Monday, as four African leaders launched a new bid to break the impasse. A man was shot dead by the army during clashes with protesters.

Reuters/Luc Gnago

At least a dozen people were injured in clashes in Abidjan between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, witnesses said.

Three Ouattara supporters were killed in violence in the city on Saturday, while security forces loyal to Gbagbo announced Monday that they lost three men in the past two weeks.

Soldiers loyal to Gbagbo fired live rounds Monday to disperse young Ouattara supporters who had set up barricades of tables and burning tyres in Abidjan, residents said.

A civilian man crossing the road was shot dead, they said.

Ouattara supporters have called for an Egypt-style revolution.

Youths in the southern Koumassi district and the northern Abobo region, both Ouattara strongholds, tried to reach rally points but security forces opened fire to disperse them, witnesses said.

The presidents of Chad, Mauritania, South Africa and Tanzania arrived in Côte d’Ivoire Monday with a new set of proposals to break the impasse.

Chad's Idriss Deby Itno, Mauritania’s Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, South Africa's Jacob Zuma and Tanzania’s Jikaya Kikwete met in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott with other African Union leaders on Sunday.

A fifth president at the Nouakchott talks, Burkina Faso’s Blaise Compaoré, would not make the trip "due to security reasons", his office said.

More than 1,000 Gbagbo supporters gathered at the airport in Abidjan on Sunday night to oppose Compaoré‘s visit, accusing him of being a committed opponent of their leader.

Ouattara's Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro, told a French newspaper on Sunday he did not believe the mediation would succeed "because Laurent Gbagbo will never accept hearing that he lost the elections and must cede power".