UN secretary-general alarmed by physical threats to winner of disputed presidential election
The United Nations has warned supporters of Ivory Coast's incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo that they would reignite a civil war if they go ahead with a threatened attack on the hotel in Abidjan where his rival is based.
A pro-Gbagbo youth leader has said that the backers of Alassane Ouattara, whom the UN says won the disputed election on 28 November, have until Saturday to "pack up their bags".
The UN's Martin Nesirky said the secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, was alarmed by the comments and believed that an attack could reignite civil war.
Ban warned Gbagbo's supporters to "refrain from such dangerous irresponsible action" at the Golf Hotel which is protected by 800 blue-helmeted UN peacekeepers and hundreds of rebels loyal to Ouattarato.
Charles Ble Goude, a fiery supporter of Gbagbo, reportedly said Ouattara and his supporters "have until 1 January 2011 to pack their bags and leave the Golf Hotel".
The newspaper Le Temps reported Ble Goude as telling Gbagbo supporters in the Yopougon district, where a UN patrol was surrounded by a mob on Tuesday and one peacekeeper was wounded by a machete: "He who attacks Laurent Gbagbo will sorely regret it. No one can remove our president from power."
Under a peace deal following the 2002-3 civil war, the UN was given the duty of certifying the results of this year's election. It declared Ouattara the winner, supporting the findings of the country's own electoral commission chief.
But Gbagbo insists he won, pointing out that the Ivory Coast constitutional council declared him the winner. The council, which is led by a Gbagbo ally, invalidated half a million ballots from Ouattara strongholds in the north.
The US and other world powers have insisted Gbagbo hand power to Ouattara.
The British foreign secretary, William Hague, said the UK would support a UN-sanctioned military intervention by Ivory Coast's neighbours who have threatened to consider force if Gbagbo refuses to hand over power.
Hague told BBC radio that Britain hopes Gbagbo can be persuaded to step down, or will go voluntarily following the freezing of his bank accounts. Gbagbo "should not underestimate the determination of the international community", he said.
Meanwhile, human rights groups warned that security forces loyal to Gbagbo were abducting political opponents with reports of dozens of bodies being dumped near a large forest.
The UN believes up to 80 bodies may have been moved to a building among shacks in a pro-Gbagbo neighbourhood. Investigators have tried to visit the scene several times, and even made it as far as the building's front door before truckloads of gunmen forced them to leave.
A second mass burial site is believed to be located near Gagnoa in the country's interior.Gbagbo's government has repeatedly denied the existence of mass graves following violence that has left at least 173 confirmed dead.
Ecowas, the Economic Community of West African States, which has sent troops to intervene in several nations over the past two decades, met last Wednesday in Abuja, Nigeria.
They decided to give negotiations more time, saying that mediators would return to Ivory Coast next week.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/31/ivory-coast-civil-war-threat
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