ABIDJAN: The government of Ivory Coast incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo said on Saturday a threat of force by West African leaders calling for him to step down after last month's disputed election was “unjust”. Heads of state from regional bloc ECOWAS late on Friday added to world pressure on Gbagbo to cede power to rival presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara, saying he could face “legitimate force” if he refuses. It was the first direct threat of foreign military intervention in the election standoff, which has killed nearly 200 people since the Nov. 28 vote and threatens to rekindle a civil war in the world's top cocoa grower. The United States, which has imposed travel sanctions on Gbagbo and his inner circle, said late on Friday it supported ECOWAS's role in solving the crisis. “We are surprised that there is such an escalation of sanctions and taking of positions against Ivory Coast over an election dispute,” said Gbagbo's government spokesman Ahoua Don Mello in an interview with Radio France Internationale on Saturday. “That is very unjust.” The ECOWAS declaration said the bloc would send an envoy to Ivory Coast to deliver an ultimatum to Gbagbo. It did not specify when the envoy would be sent or who the envoy would be and officials could not immediately be reached for comment. The United States, United Nations, European Union, African Union and ECOWAS have all recognised the provisional electoral commission results showing Ouattara as the winner. But Gbagbo has shown no sign of caving in and insists he won the election after the Constitutional Court, which is headed by one of his allies, threw out hundreds of thousands of votes from pro-Ouattara constituencies. The standoff turned violent last week after brief gun battles between government soldiers loyal to Gbagbo and rebels who now back Ouattara.
