West African nations want to resolve Côte d’Ivoire’s crisis peacefully, but a threat to use force remains valid if Laurent Gbagbo does not step down, Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan said in a statement on Tuesday.
Jonathan “has said the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) would be happy to peacefully resolve the impasse in Cote dIvoire”, the statement said.
However, the Nigerian president, the current Ecowas chairman, told the African Union mediator for Côte d’Ivoire Raila Odinga that “we have not changed the position we took during our last summit”, when the threat to use force was made.
Jonathan said “the votes of citizens must count after they are cast, or democracy will not take hold in the continent”, the statement said.
At a summit last month, Ecowas — which includes 15 countries — threatened to use force if Gbagbo refuses to yield power in favour of his internationally recognised rival Alassane Ouattara.
Odinga, also Kenya’s prime minister, met with Jonathan in Abuja before travelling to Côte d’Ivoire on Monday for his second attempt to mediate the crisis.
Gbagbo gave new assurances on Tuesday that he was open to talks with Ouattara, while Ecowas military chiefs met to finalise plans for a possible intervention to remove the incumbent leader. — Sapa-AFP