Ivory Coast: Laurent Gbagbo 'run out of time'
Laurent Gbagbo, the Ivory Coast president has run out of time to negotiate his departure, the French said yesterday, as troops supporting his rival went in to "fetch" him from his underground bunker.
Issiaka Diakhite, 26, who says he took up arms after his parents were killed by Laurent Gbagbo loyalists in his home town of Daloa in November, mans a checkpoint at one of the principal entrances to Abidjan Photo: AP
By lunchtime, Alassane Ouattara's troops were inside the gates of Mr Gbagbo's residence and searching the compound for his bunker.
The last-ditch effort to bring the standoff to an end came after Mr Gbagbo refused to sign a UN document acknowledging the internationally recognised Mr Ouattara had won the election in negotiations on Tuesday.
"I do not recognise the victory of Ouattara. Why would you want me to sign this?" Mr Gbagbo told France's LCI news channel.
"We are not at the negotiating stage. And my departure from where? To go where? For peace to return to Ivory Coast, I and Ouattara, the two of us have to talk."
A French government source told the country's Liberation newspaper that Mr Gbagbo also tried to impose the conditions that he be allowed to stay in Ivory Coast, he wanted United Nations protection and he wanted to keep his residence in the Abijdan suburb of Cocody.
However, Mr Ouattara is said to have insisted he leave the country.
According to diplomatic sources, South Africa has ruled out the possibility of him accepting him in exile – the most likely destinations for him at present are said to be Mauritania or Gambia.
Meanwhile, the UN's Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights claims to have established the identities of massacre victims in the Western town of Duekoue – and 230 of them had been traditional supporters of Laurent Gbagbo killed when Mr Ouattara's forces were in control.
Ivan Simonovic, who has spent a week in the region investigating the killings, told Channel 4 News: "Here are the hard facts: in the first incident the 100 victims were of a single ethnicity, from the Dioula ethnicity who traditionally support Ouattara, they were found after pro-Gbagbo forces were in control.
"And in the second incident 230 people from the Guerra ethnicity, traditionally supporters of Gbagbo, were killed at the time when Ouattara's forces were in control."
Alain Juppe, the French Foreign Minister, summed up the frustration of mediating parties – made up of France and the UN, with Mr Ouattara having the ultimate say. He said Mr Gbagbo had "no future" and that it was "absurd" for him to hang on.
"The negotiations which were carried out for hours yesterday between the entourage of Laurent Gbagbo and Ivorian authorities have failed because of Gbagbo's intransigence," he told parliament in Paris.
Mr Gbagbo's spokesman said the assault on his residence, where he is thought to be accompanied by his wife Simone and some of this seven children and step children, was an attempt by France, the former colonial power, to "assassinate" him.
A senior diplomat who speaks to Mr Ouattara, 69, on a regular basis, said he was "very frustrated" by Mr Gbagbo's playing for time.
"The country of Cote d'Ivoire, the Ivorian people, the city of Abidjan, is where it is now as a result of one man's refusal to accept the result of a presidential election that was free and fair," he said.
"This is an individual who has used the goodwill of others to advance his attempts to stay in power. The Republican Forces (of Mr Ouattara) were on the threshold of the presidential residence yesterday and could have taken it.
"Mr Ouattara wanted to make sure that no harm came to Mr Gbagbo and looked for negotiations for a way for him to depart. Mr Gbagbo used that opportunity to reposition his forces as a dilatory tactic. The time for negotiations is now far passed."
A spokesman for pro-Ouattara forces has said Mr Gbagbo would be brought out alive and handed over to Mr Ouattara.
"We are going to his residence to fetch him and put an end to this comedy ... This charade must end because the country is collapsing," he said.
According to diplomatic sources, South Africa has ruled out the possibility of him accepting him in exile – the most likely destinations for him at present are said to be Mauritania or Gambia.
Meanwhile, the UN's Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights claims to have established the identities of massacre victims in the Western town of Duekoue – and 230 of them had been traditional supporters of Laurent Gbagbo killed when Mr Ouattara's forces were in control.
Ivan Simonovic, who has spent a week in the region investigating the killings, told Channel 4 News: "Here are the hard facts: in the first incident the 100 victims were of a single ethnicity, from the Dioula ethnicity who traditionally support Ouattara, they were found after pro-Gbagbo forces were in control.
"And in the second incident 230 people from the Guerra ethnicity, traditionally supporters of Gbagbo, were killed at the time when Ouattara's forces were in control."
Alain Juppe, the French Foreign Minister, summed up the frustration of mediating parties – made up of France and the UN, with Mr Ouattara having the ultimate say. He said Mr Gbagbo had "no future" and that it was "absurd" for him to hang on.
"The negotiations which were carried out for hours yesterday between the entourage of Laurent Gbagbo and Ivorian authorities have failed because of Gbagbo's intransigence," he told parliament in Paris.
Mr Gbagbo's spokesman said the assault on his residence, where he is thought to be accompanied by his wife Simone and some of this seven children and step children, was an attempt by France, the former colonial power, to "assassinate" him.
A senior diplomat who speaks to Mr Ouattara, 69, on a regular basis, said he was "very frustrated" by Mr Gbagbo's playing for time.
"The country of Cote d'Ivoire, the Ivorian people, the city of Abidjan, is where it is now as a result of one man's refusal to accept the result of a presidential election that was free and fair," he said.
"This is an individual who has used the goodwill of others to advance his attempts to stay in power. The Republican Forces (of Mr Ouattara) were on the threshold of the presidential residence yesterday and could have taken it.
"Mr Ouattara wanted to make sure that no harm came to Mr Gbagbo and looked for negotiations for a way for him to depart. Mr Gbagbo used that opportunity to reposition his forces as a dilatory tactic. The time for negotiations is now far passed."
A spokesman for pro-Ouattara forces has said Mr Gbagbo would be brought out alive and handed over to Mr Ouattara.
"We are going to his residence to fetch him and put an end to this comedy ... This charade must end because the country is collapsing," he said.
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