Prime Minister urges force to oust Gbagbo from Ivory Coast

A top opposition figure urged the international community to use force to oust Laurent Gbagbo from Ivory Coast’s presidency after the disputed election.

Meanwhile France urged its citizens to get out of the West African nation amid growing fears of civil war.

The United Nations and other world leaders recognise Alassane Ouattara as the winner of the November 28 run-off vote. His prime minister, Guillaume Soro, urged the UN, European Union, African Union and others to consider intervening to push Mr Gbagbo out.

“It is obvious that there is one solution left – that of force,” Mr Soro told France’s i-tele television channel. He added that “200 people have been killed by the bullets of Liberian and Angolan mercenaries” in Ivory Coast but he did not elaborate and the numbers could not immediately be confirmed.

The UN said on Sunday that at least 50 people had been killed in Ivory Coast in recent days and the UN chief has also expressed concern about the recruitment of fighters from neighbouring Liberia.

But there appears to be little international interest in a military intervention. The United States and the EU are imposing sanctions targeting Mr Gbagbo, his wife and political allies and hundreds of UN peacekeepers have been protecting the hotel where Mr Ouattara is based.

Over the weekend Mr Gbagbo ordered all UN peacekeepers out of the country immediately in an escalation of tensions. But The UN considers Mr Ouattara president and is staying put, raising fears that UN staff and other foreigners could be targeted as tensions mount.

The US State Department has already ordered most of its staff to leave because of what officials called a deteriorating security situation and growing anti-Western sentiment. Germany has also recommended that its nationals leave.

At least 13,000 French people are currently believed to be in Ivory Coast, which maintains close ties to France and was once the crown jewel of its former West African colonial empire.

After a meeting in Paris with French president Nicolas Sarkozy, World Bank chief Robert Zoellick said loans had been halted to Ivory Coast. The World Bank’s aid commitment was £547 million as of January, according to the bank’s website.

“The World Bank has currently stopped lending and disbursing funds to the Ivory Coast and the World Bank’s office (in Abidjan) has been closed,” a statement from the agency said.

“The World Bank and the African Development Bank have supported (regional bloc) ECOWAS and the African Union in sending the message to President Gbagbo that he has lost the election and needs to step down.”

Mr Ouattara has also sought to use financial pressure to force Mr Gbagbo out, appealing to the West African central bank (BCEAO) to cut off his access to state coffers, making it impossible to pay civil servants and soldiers.

Such a move could set the stage for mass defections and turn the tide against Mr Gbagbo.

The latest international pressure to force Mr Gbagbo out comes amid rising concerns about violence in Ivory Coast. UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that Ivory Coast faced “a real risk” of a return to civil war.

Over the weekend, masked gunmen opened fire on the UN base in Ivory Coast, though no one from the world body was harmed. Two military observers were wounded in another attack. The UN also says armed men have been intimidating staff at their private homes.

A Gbagbo adviser said he did not believe soldiers or people close to Mr Gbagbo would carry out such acts.

UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said on Tuesday there appeared to be mercenaries “from Liberia and, perhaps, Angola” in Ivory Coast.

Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, who successfully mediated a solution to Kenya’s post-election violence, said he was concerned about the violence in Ivory Coast and called on Mr Gbagbo “to step aside and respect the will of the people”.

Mr Annan called on Ivory Coast’s military and police forces to protect the civilian population.

Ivory Coast’s 2002-2003 civil war saw the involvement of Liberians fighting on nearly all sides of the conflict. Liberia itself suffered brutal back-to-back civil wars that lasted until 2003, and the two countries share a porous, 370 mile-long border.

Liberia’s president has urged citizens not to get involved in Ivory Coast’s latest political crisis.

Hundreds of UN troops are protecting the Golf Hotel where Mr Ouattara is based, but they are encircled by forces loyal to Mr Gbagbo.

Mr Gbagbo said on Tuesday that people could leave the hotel, but Mr Ouattara’s people say they are not venturing out for fear of a trap.

“Mice don’t trust smiling cats,” said senior Ouattara adviser Amadou Coulibaly.

Mr Gbagbo claimed victory in the presidential election only after his allies threw out half a million ballots from Ouattara strongholds in the north.