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Gbgabo Demands Peacekeepers Leave Ivory Coast

   VOA News 18 December 2010
   UN  armored  personnel  carriers  (APC)  park  near  the Gulf Hotel in
   Abidjan, 18 Dec 2010

Photo: AFP

   UN  armored  personnel  carriers  (APC)  park  near  the Gulf Hotel in
   Abidjan, 18 Dec 2010

   The  government  of Ivory Coast's incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo,
   is demanding that U.N. and French peacekeepers leave the country.
   A  spokeswoman  for  the  Gbagbo  government  issued  the  demand in a
   statement read on state television Saturday.
   The  demand came a few hours after the U.N. mission reported an attack
   on  its  base  in Abidjan.  The mission said men in military uniforms
   opened  fire  on  the  base  overnight,  prompting  return  fire  from
   peacekeepers.  There were no reports of injuries in the exchange.
   The  U.N.  has  called on Mr. Gbagbo to step down in favor of Alassane
   Ouattara,   the  internationally-recognized  winner  of  last  month's
   presidential runoff election.
   On Friday, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and French President Nicolas Sarkozy
   renewed  their  calls  for  Mr.  Gbagbo  to  cede  power.  But Gbagbo
   supporters have vowed their leader will stay in office.
   The French news agency quotes a top Gbagbo aide, Charles Ble Goude, as
   saying Mr. Sarkozy will have to "march over our corpses" to get to the
   president.  He called on all Ivorians to get ready for combat.
   At  least 20 people died during street clashes in Abidjan Thursday, as
   Ouattara supporters tried to march on the state television station.
   Mr.  Gbagbo  retains control of the army and other state institutions,
   while  Mr.  Ouattara  is housed in an Abidjan hotel, protected by U.N.
   peacekeepers.
   Both  men  say  they won last month's presidential runoff election and
   have  named  rival  governments.   The dispute has sparked fears that
   Ivory Coast could plunge back into civil war.
   A  2002  civil  war  left  the country divided into a rebel-controlled
   north  and  government-controlled  south.  The areas were technically
   reunited in a 2007 peace treaty.
   The  United  Nations has about 10,000 peacekeepers in the West African
   country.
   Mr.  Gbagbo  has been in power since 2000.  His term expired in 2005,
   but he stayed in office while elections were repeatedly delayed.

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