Ping: Ivory Coast close to civil war

Youth supporters of Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo gather at a stadium in Abidjan to sign up for military service. The African Union says the country is on the verge of civil war amid the continuing power struggle between Gbagbo and his election rival, Alassane Ouattara.

Youth supporters of Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo gather at a stadium in Abidjan to sign up for military service. The African Union says the country is on the verge of civil war amid the continuing power struggle between Gbagbo and his election rival, Alassane Ouattara.

Published Mar 25, 2011

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Paris - Ivory Coast is dangerously close to falling into civil war, the chairperson of the African Union, Jean Ping, warned on Thursday.

“We tried to get an agreement,” said Ping, speaking to reporters in Paris. “We continue to try but the civil war is almost there.”

Ping said the tentative agreement had been rejected by incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo but accepted by his challenger, Alassane Ouattara.

Some 462 people have been killed since a disputed November election, which was claimed by Gbagbo despite United Nations-certified results showing he lost to Ouattara. - Reuters

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