More demonstrations planned in Ivory Coast

[December 17, 2010]  ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) -- Police were out in force in Abidjan on Friday as supporters of the internationally recognized winner of Ivory Coast's presidential election vowed to try once again to seize state institutions after a similar attempt the day before resulted in up to 30 deaths.

The streets of Abidjan were nearly deserted Friday. Shops were shuttered and residents peered out of their windows.

Civil war threatens to re-ignite in this West African nation that was once an economic hub of West Africa, with the incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo, and opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara both claiming victory in last month's poll. The international community said Ouattara won but Gbagbo has refused to step down.

In Abidjan's Adjame area, a neighborhood of Ouattara supporters, Gbagbo's soldiers patrolled and fired in the air Friday. Burning tires were on the roads.

Troops loyal to Gbagbo and forces backing Ouattara engaged in a firefight on Thursday in Abidjan. Clashes also occurred in the capital, Yamoussoukro, and in the northern town of Bouake and the central town of Tiebissou, said Traore Drissa, a lawyer who runs the Abidjan-based Ivorian Movement for Human Rights.

Ouattara's supporters were to march later Friday on government buildings and hold a Cabinet meeting, said Guillaume Soro, whom Ouattara named as his prime minister.

"It is sad that in 2010 in our country, it's not enough to win an election," Soro said. "Even when you win this election, you are still obliged to confront tanks to govern. This is unacceptable."

On Thursday, Ouattara's supporters tried to seize control of the state television building. They did not get close to the building, which was heavily protected by Gbagbo's troops. Police and soldiers sealed off streets around it with roadblocks and armored personnel carriers.

Ouattara's camp said 30 people died. Gbagbo's people said 20 died, including 10 police officers killed by protesters.

Many hoped the elections in the world's top cocoa producer would reunite the nation following a 2002-03 war that split it in two.

Ohoupa Sessegnon, a spokesman for Gbagbo's party, accused Gbagbo's opponents and France of being behind Thursday's violence, which he called "regretful."

During a press conference in South Africa Friday, Sessegnon claimed French soldiers infiltrated the ranks of Ivorian soldiers and posed as civilians during the protest to ensure it was violent.

"They want to kill, so that the killing that takes place can be blamed on President Laurent Gbagbo," Sessegnon said.

Sessegnon, an Ivorian, chairs the South African-Ivorian chamber of commerce in South Africa and is spokesman for the local chapter of Gbagbo's party. He said he called a news conference in Johannesburg to try to rally other Africans to oppose what he claimed was a French plot to topple Gbagbo. He said Gbabgo has angered France by seeking trading partners other than France.

Sessegnon also accused France of lobbying other Western powers to oppose Gbagbo, and rejected a call from Washington for Gbagbo to step down and leave the country.

In Washington, a senior Obama administration official said Thursday the U.S. and other nations told Gbagbo to step down and leave the country within days or face travel and financial sanctions.

The European Union is giving Gbagbo until the weekend to leave the presidency or face EU sanctions and possibly prosecution by the international court.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday all EU nations unanimously want Gbagbo to leave office in the former French colony, or Gbagbo and his wife will face an assets freeze and visa ban.

Sarkozy said Gbagbo was responsible for turning one of Africa's most stable nations into one where innocent people are shot in the streets by his supporters. Sarkozy noted that there are international courts to deal with such crimes.

Ivory Coast has been operating with two presidents and two governments since a disputed Nov. 28 runoff election. Ouattara was declared the winner by the country's electoral commission and was recognized by the U.N., U.S., France and the African Union as having beaten Gbagbo, the incumbent. The next day, however, the constitutional council overturned the results after invalidating a half-million votes from Ouattara strongholds.

[Associated Press; By MARCO CHOWN OVED]

Associated Press writers Donna Bryson in Johannesburg and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report.

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