Post date: Jan 27, 2011 12:8:17 PM
Guillamue Soro, the man named as Ivory Coast's prime minister by Alassane Ouattara, visits Zambia to call on the African Union to take a strong stance on the Ivory Coast crisis. Meanwhile in Ivory Coast, Malawi president and chairman of the AU Mutharika meets Ouattara to gather information ahead of this week's AU summit.
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA (JANUARY 26, 2011) REUTERS - An influential opponent of Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo called on Wednesday (January 26) for a targeted commando strike against the leader who is resisting calls to step down after a disputed election in November.
Gbagbo's rival Alassane Ouattara who won a November presidential election according to U.N.-certified results, but Gbagbo has refused to go, alleging vote-rigging by the opposition.Guillaume Soro, Ouattara's prime minister, said in a visit to Zambia to rally support for Gbagbo's ouster, ahead of the African Union summit due to be held in Ethiopia on Saturday (January 29)
"Our fore fathers did it while fighting for independence, our elders did the same way fighting for multiparty, today we have to fight for democracy," he said, addressing members of the media at a press conference.
"Cote d'Ivoire government is asking the African Union to take strong decision against Mr Laurent Gbagbo and his clan who is refusing to hand over power peacefully," he said.
Despite threats by regional leaders to remove Gbagbo by force if he declines to step down, there is little appetite among the country's neighbours for large-scale military intervention that could cause more bloodshed.
"Civilians are massacred, women are raped. All of them victims of the stronger will Mr Laurent Gbagbo who has confiscated state power despite being beaten through the ballot boxes," he said.
Meanwhile in Ivory Coast, Malawi president and chairman of the AU Bingu wa Mutharika met with Alassane Ouattara on Wednesday (January 26) to gather information ahead of the African Union Summit due to start this Saturday (January 29) in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.
Mutharika's meeting with Ouattara followed on from a meeting with Laurent Gbagbo on the same day.
Speaking after the meeting, Mutharika said he hoped leaders across Africa could help find a way out of the political deadlock.
"We have gathered all the information and reports, I've been studying them and starting from tonight when I'm flying back to Ethiopia. When we get there we will sit down together as the African Union to see in what way we can assist the people of Cote d'Ivoire to find a rational solution," he said.
Fractures have been emerging in African efforts to find a solution to the political upheaval in Ivory Coast, after several leaders have voiced their opposition to United Nations backing of Ouattara as president, including Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni.
The split has increased the potential for rows at this weekend's summit, when the 53-nation group will try to come to an agreement on how to push for a solution after the disputed November elections in the world's biggest cocoa producer.