Up in arms Soldiers of opposition leader Alassane Ouattara walk out of Golf hotel in Abidjan Friday. Ivory Coast's main city was shaken by violence Thursday as Gbagbo's forces clashed with Ouattara's supporters. (Reuters) n Exile or sanctions, Gbagbo told n ‘President going nowhere' ABIDJAN/WASHINGTON: African nations have promised Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo a “soft landing” in exile, a senior US official said Friday as pressure grew on him to concede last month's disputed election. The west African state has been in turmoil since the Nov. 28 vote in which Gbagbo claimed victory with backing from the nation's top legal body, rejecting as fraudulent results showing he lost by a near 8 percent margin to rival Alassane Ouattara. Rebels loyal to Ouattara exchanged fire with the army in Abidjan and elsewhere Thursday while protests in Abidjan left at least 20 dead, raising worries of a return to all-out conflict in a country still split after a 2002-03 civil war. “There is at least one African offer of a soft landing, but it is up to him to take it,” William Fitzgerald, the State Department official in charge of west African affairs, told Reuters in an interview. He added that the United States was ready to impose travel sanctions on Gbagbo, his inner circle and their families within days if the crisis remains unresolved, echoing French threats. European Union leaders Friday also called on Ivory Coast's army to defect from Gbagbo to Ouattara, while Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga went further with a direct call for African nations to oust Gbagbo by force if necessary. “Mr Gbagbo must be forced even if it means using military means to get rid of him because now he is just relying on military power, not the people's power, to intimidate the people,” Odinga told a news conference in Nairobi. “The African Union should develop teeth.” The Ivorian military is seen as divided, but Gbagbo's presidential guard, of unknown numbers, are diehard loyalists. Alain Toussaint, a spokesman for Gbagbo, told Reuters in London: “The European Union call is totally irresponsible and scandalous.” Ouattara supporters seeking to seize the state broadcaster RTI Thursday clashed with security forces while pro-Ouattara rebels exchanged fire with government soldiers in Abidjan and in the town of Tiebissou on the rebel-government dividing line. A spokesman for Gbagbo said the president has no intention of stepping down. “President Gbagbo is going nowhere. He was elected for five years and he will only leave power in 2015,” spokesman Alain Toussaint said. On the other hand, the military forces backing isolated Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo accused UN peacekeepers Friday of backing rebel fighters and said they no longer considered them a neutral force. The army's claim came after United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said letting Gbagbo stay on as president would be a “mockery of democracy” and warned against any attack on UN troops in Ivory Coast. “The Defense and Security Forces of the Ivory Coast call on the national and international community to bear witness to the fact that ONUCI no longer plays the role of a neutral force,” spokesman Col. Babri Gohourou said.
