Civil war fears as president urges removal of Gbagbo

IVORY COAST’S internationally recognised president called yesterday for a bloodless raid by west African special forces to snatch defiant strongman Laurent Gbagbo and “take him elsewhere” amid fears of civil war.

Alassane Ouattara’s call came after regional bloc ECOWAS said it was prepared to use military force as a last resort to oust Gbagbo who retains control of the army and continues to defy international calls to step down.

“If he persists, it’s up to ECOWAS to take the necessary measures and those measures can include legitimate force,” Ouattara told journalists at the Abidjan hotel where he has for weeks been besieged by Gbagbo forces.

“Legitimate force doesn’t mean a force against Ivorians,” he said, with the crisis threatening to plunge the west African nation back into civil war.

“It’s a force to remove Laurent Gbagbo and that’s been done elsewhere, in Africa and in Latin America, there are non-violent special operations which allow simply to take the unwanted person and take him elsewhere.

“Laurent Gbagbo will leave before the end of January,” Ouattara added. “I have a series of measures under way that will make him fall like a fruit, not a ripe one, but like a rotten fruit.”

The latest bid by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union to mediate an end to the crisis that has seen at least 200 people killed since the disputed November 28 election floundered on Tuesday.

West African military chiefs have set in motion plans to oust Gbagbo if negotiations fail, with another crisis mediation mission to be decided soon.

Ouattara has accused Gbagbo of masterminding a campaign of rape and murder against his supporters, while the United Nations mission in the country said yesterday the death toll from the crisis continues to rise.

ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has vowed to prosecute any political crimes carried out in the wake of the disputed poll. UN rights experts said last week they feared reports of widespread post-election violence in the Ivory Coast amounted to crimes against humanity, but that it had been prevented from fully investigating alleged atrocities.