African leaders pressure Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo to quit

AFRICAN mediators have offered Ivory Coast’s embattled leader Laurent Gbagbo incentives to stand down after disputed polls, using the threat of military action as the only alternative.

Yesterday, a smiling Gbagbo welcomed Kenya’s prime minister Raila Odinga, the African Union’s envoy, and three regional presidents tasked with ending his deadly standoff with the man the world says is president, Alassane Ouattara.

Presidents Ernest Koroma of Sierra Leone, Boni Yayi of Benin and Pedro Pires of Cape Verde are representing the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which has said it is prepared to send troops into Ivory Coast.