FILE: Opposition forces are set to depose the incumbent President of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo

Record ID: 181915

  • Title: FILE: Opposition forces are set to depose the incumbent President of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo
  • Date: 7th April 2011
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (French) IVORY COAST PRESIDENT, LAURENT GBAGBO, SAYING: "I bring you places of work. It's because young people don't have work, they have been lied to and they took up weapons. A young man who works, doesn't take up arms." GBAGBO'S SECURITY IN FRONT OF BANNER
  • Embargoed: 22nd April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cote d'Ivoire
  • Country: Ivory Coast
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA44G5U3IQC8E67MJ5CGDWJ6X18
  • Story Text: Forces loyal to Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara stormed the bunker where Laurent Gbagbo was defying efforts on Wednesday (April 6) to force him to cede power, a spokeswoman for Ouattara told Reuters.
    France, the former colonial power, said fighting was under way around Gbagbo's residence in Abidjan but that French troops in the city were not involved.
    Negotiations to persuade Gbagbo to quit stalled early on Wednesday as he resisted pressure from the United Nations and France to sign a document renouncing his claim to power.
    A defiant Gbagbo had earlier denied he was willing to surrender despite a fierce assault by forces loyal to Ouattara, whose victory in November's presidential election was certified by the United Nations but rejected by Gbagbo.
    Last year's long-delayed election in the world's top cocoa producing nation was meant to draw a line under the civil war, but Gbagbo's refusal to cede power has plunged the country into violence that has killed more than 1,500 people.
    Over the past week, forces loyal to Ouattara launched a major assault on Gbagbo's last strongholds in Abidjan, driving home their campaign to oust him.
    The conflict drove cocoa prices lower as dealers bet on a swift end to Gbagbo's rule and a resumption of exports. The country's defaulted $2.3 billion Eurobond rose to a four-month high on Wednesday on raised expectations of repayment.

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