IVORY COAST: African Union President Denis Sassou Nguesso fails in attempt to broker agreement in Ivory Coast

Record ID: 181661

  • Title: IVORY COAST: African Union President Denis Sassou Nguesso fails in attempt to broker agreement in Ivory Coast
  • Date: 13th September 2006
  • Summary: (BN15) ABIDJAN IVORY COAST (SEPTEMBER 12, 2006) (REUTERS) AU PRESIDENT DENIS SASSOU N'GUESSO AND IVORIAN LEADERS AROUND HIM (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: IVORIAN PRESIDENT LAURENT GBAGBO, SASSOU NGUESSO, IVORIAN PRIME MINISTER CHARLES KONAN BANNY AND OPPOSITION LEADER ALLASSANE OUATTARA (SOUNBITE) (French) AU PRESIDENT, DENIS SASSOU N'GUESSO, SAYING: "Since we could not find consensus around this proposal made by the prime minister, we then leave the discussions to continue between the Ivorian leaders with the hope that the deadlock will end if possible" VARIOUS OF LEADERS SASSOU N'GUESSO LEAVES THE ROOM
  • Embargoed: 28th September 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: War / Fighting,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA56OSNZS9D8GAMR2J41Z2LOLAM
  • Story Text: Ivory Coast has once again dashed regional hopes for a resolution of issues preventing a planned October poll from going ahead.
    African Union President Denis Sassou Nguesso said on Tuesday (September 12) he had been unable to get foes in the divided country to agree on how to unblock a peace process meant to lead the country to democratic elections.
    Nguesso, president of Congo Republic and head of the AU, met Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny, opposition leaders and rebels to try to break an impasse that is obstructing the holding of polls.
    The latest deadline for the long-delayed elections, meant to unite the nation under a U.N.-backed peace plan, had been October 31 but disagreements over disarmament and a national identification scheme have ruled out that date.
    Nguesso said that questions of identification, which he explained was linked to disarmament, had found no solution.
    Ivory Coast's already tangled political outlook was further confused last Wednesday when Banny's government quit after toxic waste was dumped around Abidjan, killing six people, making thousands ill and leading to a public outcry.
    The former French colony has been split between a rebel-held north and government-run south since a brief 2002-03 civil war. More than 7,000 U.N. peacekeepers and 4,000 French soldiers police a ceasefire line keeping the two sides apart.
    Presidential polls had already been postponed from last October, when Gbagbo was given an extended mandate of up to 12 more months in power under the U.N. peace blueprint.
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