European Union bans Côte d’Ivoire President Gbagbo and 18 supporters

European Union bans Côte d’Ivoire President Gbagbo and 18 supporters

2010-12-21 01:46:30 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- The European Union on Monday enforced visa bans on disputed Côte d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo and 18 of his close supporters, denying them access to the 27 EU-member states, Euronews reported.

The 27 member states agreed on prohibiting traveling into Europe for Gbagbo and his allies. The list would be officially approved by the end of this week, according to Maja Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

The visa bans were decided as incumbent President Gbagbo continues to cling onto power after losing the presidential elections' run-off. Citizens of Côte d’Ivoire elected opposition candidate and former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara as the new leader, but Gbagbo ordered the results to be annulled.

The European Union said last week that its member states were considering imposing sanctions on Gbabgo, which included Monday's agreed visa ban. The EU is also expected to discuss assets freeze sanctions against the African country.

The EU visa ban list will be updated to include President Laurant Gbagbo, First Lady Simone Gbagbo, Captain Anselme Seka Yapo, security adviser Kadet Berlin, the secretary-general of the presidency Desire Tagro, the president of the Constitutional Council Yao N'Dre, and the director-general of the country's RTI radio and television authority Pierre Israel Amessan Brou.

Last week, dozens were killed and hundreds more were injured during violent clashes between Ouattara protesters and presidential guards in Côte d'Ivoire. Since then, the situation has escalated quickly. According to the UN, over 50 people have been killed so far and around 200 wounded.

Gbagbo has ignored repeated calls from many countries and international agencies to admit and respect the voting results. The UN Secretary-General rejected on Sunday Gbagbo's call for all UN peacekeepers to leave the country immediately.

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