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Summary
Hundreds of Christian women gathered in Republic Square in Abidjan to pray for peace in Ivory Coast. We found it appropriate to ask forgiveness for the return of peace between the Ivorian brothers, said Hortense Kolade, President of Christian Women's Association in Ivory Coast. The world's top cocoa producing country has faced an impasse since a disputed election last month led to violence that has killed over 170 people, according to the United Nations, and reopened the wounds of a 2002-2003 civil war.The United States, European Union, United Nations, African Union, and West African bloc ECOWAS have all thrown their support behind Ouattara after provisional elections results showed he won by an 8 point margin.The turmoil has sent cocoa futures to four-month highs, while the country's Eurobond has dipped to a record low on concern that the government will miss a $30 million bond payment on Dec. 31. International pressure has piled on Gbagbo to step down since the Nov. 28 election, but he has shown no sign of caving in and insists he won after the nation's top court -- run by one of his allies -- threw out hundreds of thousands of Ouattara votes citing fraud. A similar call for civil disobedience last week by Ouattara's rival government was not largely followed. But at least 20 people died when Ouattara supporters tried to seize the state broadcaster and clashed with government soldiers. About 20 Ouattara supporters in Paris occupied the Ivorian embassy there for more than six hours on Monday, calling for the internationally isolated Gbagbo to step aside, before leaving peacefully, French television reported. Three west African heads of state, sent by ECOWAS, are due to arrive in Abidjan on Tuesday to urge Gbagbo to quit. ECOWAS has threatened to use force if he does not relinquish power. The African Union backed the regional effort and the mission to end the crisis. It said in a statement it had asked Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga to follow through the situation. In an interview with France's Le Figaro newspaper on Sunday, Gbagbo said he was not worried by the ECOWAS threat to remove him by force, but added that he was the victim of an international plot by France and the United States. All threats must be taken seriously. But it would be the first time that African countries were willing to go to war against another country because an election went wrong, he said. French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero dismissed his allegations. These accusations are groundless and should not serve as a distraction from the position taken by the international community in its entirety... Valero said. The United States and the EU have imposed travel sanctions on Gbagbo and his inner circle, while the World Bank and the West African regional central bank have cut off his finances, which means he may soon have trouble paying troops.
