Mens Elfenbenskysten ifgl. WHO er ramt af en ny plage, gul feber, ankom formanden for Den Afrikanske Union Bingu wa Mutharika tirsdag til det konfliktplagede land for at gøre et nyt forsøg på at mægle mellem den erklærede vinder af præsidentvalget i november og den hidtidige præsident, der nægter at gå af.
By Mtheto Lungu, AfricaNews
LILONFWE, MALAVI, 25 January 2011: African Union (AU) chairperson Bingu wa Mutharika has flown to Ivory Coast on Tuesday to mediate between rivals – embattled president Laurent Gbagbo and world acclaimed winner of the November 2010 presidential run-off elections Alassane Ouattara. His trip aims to find a lasting solution to the face-off.
The two rivals have formed parallel governments. Ouattara is believed to have won the polls over veteran Gbagbo – who is clinging to power despite wide spread criticism and calls for him to relinquish power.
Early this year Mutharika said Gbagbo should peacefully and with dignity stand aside, make way for Ouattara to take over. The AU, alongside the European Union (EU), ECOWAS, and United Nations (UN) have all asked adamant Gbagbo to leave.
Ouattara is holed up in a hotel in the capital Abidjan protected by UN peacekeeping troops and the army loyal to Gbagbo has tried to shake up things by showing signs of aggression, sometimes led by loyalist youth groups.
Most Ivoirians have lost their lives including policemen as the two sides continue to juggle over leadership – leading to the failure of AU sanctioned mediator and Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, giving up reconciliation efforts. Ouattara says he cannot allow for a government of national unity and that he would however allow Gbagbo to leave the leadership and country honorably.
