Ivory Coast, March 10: De facto Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo has banned UN and French overflights and landings in the country, as the country’s political standoff remains unresolved.
The decision comes just hours before Gbagbo electoral rival, President-elect Alassane Ouattara, attends an African Union meeting in Ethiopia.
The decision will prevent Ouattara’s participation in the AU panel of presidents, which includes Mauritania’s Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, South African President Jacob Zuma, Chad’s Idriss Deby Itno, Burkina Faso’s Blaise Compaore and Tanzania’s Jakaya Kikwete.
The African mediation group is tasked with finding a peaceful solution to the crisis in Ivory Coast and the violence that has so far left more than 375 people dead in the country .
Gbagbo has reportedly refused to attend the meeting. He earlier said he will send a representative instead.
Gbagbo has also rejected any negotiations on the outcome of his country’s disputed presidential election in November, condemning the current international pressure against him as a Franco-American conspiracy.
US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that he was shocked by the “indiscriminate killing” of civilians in Ivory Coast and said it was time for Gbagbo to quit power.
“Former President Gbagbo’s efforts to hold on to power at the expense of his own country are an assault on the universal rights of his people, and the democracy that the Cote d’Ivoire deserves,” Obama said.
The UN mission in Ivory Coast (UNOCI), which has about 9,000 troops in the African country, has been frequently slammed by Gbagbo for supporting Ouattara.
However, UNOCI said on Tuesday that it is “impartial and will remain so,” about the political situation of the country. The international force expressed deep concern about the violence in Ivory Coast but pledged to do its best to bring an end to it.
Ivory Coast has been in crisis since the presidential elections last November. Ouattara is internationally recognized as the winner of the poll but Gbagbo has refused to step down.
——–Agencies