ABIDJAN — Troops loyal to Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo were seen on Monday near the hotel that houses the rival government declared by his enemy Alassane Ouattara, amid a marked rise in tension.
Armed members of the New Forces (FN), former rebels who have rallied to Ouattara’s camp, adopted defensive combat positions around the hotel but there was no immediate sign of fighting, according to AFP reporters at the scene.
Gbagbo and Ouattara both declared themselves president in the wake of last month’s disputed presidential election. Ouattara has been recognised by the international community, but Ivorian army chiefs remain loyal to Gbagbo.
Witnesses and officials told AFP that Gbagbo loyalists had briefly attempted to control access to the waterfront Hotel Golf in Abidjan, where Ouattara and his supporters are encamped under United Nations protection.
A spokesman for the Ouattara camp said the troops had lifted the blockade after around two hours, when they were approached by members of the FN.
« They came at around 8.00 am (0800 GMT) and tried to stop people getting through. They left around half-an-hour ago, » said Ouattara spokesman Patrick Achi. « Some FN members approached them, but there was no incident. »
At midday UN peacekeepers could be seen deployed near the FN members, but there was no sign of loyalist security forces.
Gbagbo has appointed his own ministers and insists he is the constitutional president, despite a United Nations Security Council resolution calling on him to step down and threats of US and EU sanctions.
United Nations peacekeepers are deployed around the Golf Hotel to protect Ouattara’s rival administration, but Ivory Coast’s loyalist chief-of-staff General Philippe Mangou warned them Sunday not to get drawn into fighting.
« We simply advise our brothers in the ‘impartial forces’ to never again get the blood of Ivorians on their hands. They are not here to make war on Ivorians, » he said, in a televised address to troops.
The November 28 presidential election was supposed to mark a turning point in Ivory Coast’s decade-long crisis and restore elected constitutional rule to a country divided into rival northern and southern armed camps.
But instead it has deepened divisions, with Gbagbo retaining control of the official armed forces and most of the economic and administrative levers of state while Ouattara has donned the mantle of international legitimacy.
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