UN calls for the resignation of Côte d'Ivoire's Gbagbo

UN calls for the resignation of Côte d'Ivoire's Gbagbo

2011-04-01 04:01:54 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called on Côte d’Ivoire's former president Laurent Gbagbo to immediately cede power to presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara.

The  Secretary-General  expressed concerned about the increasing violence and reiterated all parties responsible for committing human rights violations will be held accountable under international law.

"The  Secretary-General urges all to exercise maximum  restraint, refrain from exacting revenge and place the interests of the whole nation above all else," a statement said.

The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday decided to impose targeted sanctions against Gbagbo, his wife and three associates while demanding an end to violence in the country.

The decision came with the post-electoral deadlock in the North African country entering its fifth month and the crisis showing no signs of abating. The Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1975 and urged Gbagbo to immediately step aside.

Hours before the UN meeting, forces loyal to Ouattara captured the capital Yamoussoukro. This was a symbolic victory after the political turmoil began last December when outgoing President Gbagbo, who was defeated by opposition candidate Ouattara, refused to step down despite the approval from the UN and the international community.

At least 400 people have died in the violent crisis stemming from the December 2010 presidential elections which were meant to be the culminating point in reunifying a country split by civil war in 2002 into a Government-controlled south and a rebel-held north.

More than 93,000 people have fled to the neighboring Liberia to the west while over a million people have been internally displaced due to the deteriorating security situation and the escalation in the use of heavy weapons against civilians.

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