Ivory Coast leader calls for special forces
The man most of the world says is Ivory Coast’s new president today called for special forces from West African nations to remove incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.
Alassane Ouattara said Mr Gbagbo’s location could be quickly identified by a team of elite troops because he “is essentially at his residence or at the presidential palace.”
The regional bloc of West African states, ECOWAS, has threatened military action but in recent days leaders have shied away from making a commitment to an armed invasion, fearing mass casualties and a possible return to civil war.
Mr Ouattara said that elite forces have previously carried out similar operations in Latin America and Africa “to remove the person who is the problem.”
“So If ECOWAS do send in special forces with the objective of removing Mr. Gbagbo he will be removed, without much damage,” said Mr Ouattara who has been running a shadow government under protection of UN peacekeepers.
Yesterday one of Mr Gbagbo’s closest supporters warned that any attempt to remove him by force will lead to war.
“We need to avoid that the Third World War begin in Ivory Coast ... No army in the world can come in and remove our president. It’s in Abidjan that such a thing can happen,” said Charles Ble Goude, who heads the Young Patriots, a militia-like organisation.
Mr Ouattara maintains that a military operation will not take much time or resources, and that if ECOWAS carries one out, Mr Gbagbo will cave in immediately.
“I know Mr Gbagbo. If he sees that ECOWAS troops are coming to capture him, believe me he will start running away. I know him well. He does not have the courage to face those type of situations,” Mr Ouattara said.
While the United Nations and other world powers recognise Mr Ouattara as the winner of last year’s elections, Mr Gbagbo has refused to step down, insisting he won. Mr Gbagbo has been in power for a decade and maintains control of the military. Human rights groups accuse his security forces of killing political opponents.
The African Union’s envoy to Ivory Coast said that a military ouster should be only a last resort.
Around 9,000 UN peacekeepers are in Ivory Coast but their mandate is to protect civilians, not participate in any military intervention.
Mr Gbagbo came to power in 2000 and ruled during the civil war that erupted two years later, then overstayed his legal term which expired in 2005, claiming the country was too unstable to organise a poll.
The election was rescheduled at least six times before it was finally held in October, with the runoff between himself and Mr Ouattara held in November.
