ABIDJAN: Defiant Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo ordered UN and French peacekeepers out of the country Saturday, accusing them of backing rebel fighters supporting his rival Alassane Ouattara. The demand reflected mounting anger towards the international community from Gbagbo's nationalist supporters, and came as his most notorious lieutenant urged his followers to make ready to fight for Ivory Coast's sovereignty. The United Nations, United States, European Union and Ivory Coast's west African neighbors all demanded that Gbagbo cede power to Ouattara after both men claimed to have won last month's presidential election. But the veteran strongman retains control of the official armed forces and his backers have vowed to fight on, turning their anger on UN peacekeepers, former colonial power France and Ouattara's own Ivorian supporters. “The president of the Republic of the Ivory Coast has just asked for the immediate departure from Ivorian territory of UNOCI and the French forces that support it,” Education Minister Jacqueline Lohoues-Oble said. The United Nations and the international community have recognized Ouattara as president, but Gbagbo refuses to stand down. As tension mounted between the two camps, Gbagbo's supporters accused the United Nations 10,000-strong UNOCI peacekeeping force and France's 900 troops in Ivory Coast of supporting pro-Ouattara rebel fighters. The spokeswoman repeated these claims and said: “The Ivorian government considers that UNOCI has broadly failed in its mission in carrying out acts that are not in conformity with its mandate.” “This means that the Ivorian government henceforth opposes renewal of the operation's mandate, which expires on Dec. 20, 2010,” she said, referring to the authority granted the mission by UN member states. “Play time is over,” declared Charles Ble Goude, Gbagbo's minister for youth, who has been under UN sanctions since 2006 for “acts of violence by street militias, including beatings, rapes and extrajudicial killings”. “We are going to defend the sovereignty of our country until the last drop of our sweat. I urge all Ivorians to make themselves ready for this combat. We are going to totally liberate our country,” he said. In a sign of the rising tension, six men in military uniform opened fire overnight on a UN patrol returning to the force's main base in Abidjan, ONUCI complained in a statement. A UN sentry returned fire but there were no reports of anyone hurt in the clash, and the mission appealed for calm.
