Akhir 05 , 1432 H. / March 10, 2011 -- Ivory Coast's entrenched incumbent president imposed a no-fly order on U.N. aircraft in Ivory Coast, possibly complicating the return to the nation of the internationally recognized election winner who was attending an African Union summit Thursday in Ethiopia. Alassane Ouattara departed the commercial capital of Abidjan on a U.N. helicopter on Tuesday and then traveled to the city of Bouake, from which he took a private jet to the meeting which began in Ethiopia on Thursday. The meeting is aimed at ending Ivory Coast's three-month political crisis. State television said sitting president Laurent Gbagbo, who is refusing to cede power, would not attend but has sent a delegation. It marked the first time that Ouattara, who Ivory Coast's electoral commission and the United Nations said won the election, has left the country since the political standoff began. There was no immediate reaction Thursday from Ouattara's government, though U.N. flights continued. Two Associated Press journalists boarded a U.N. helicopter flight hours after the announcement of a no-fly zone was made on state television late Wednesday. Gbagbo has made several previous threats against the U.N. that the world body has ignored, including his order months ago that thousands of U.N. peacekeepers depart the country immediately. Gbagbo also ordered fuel stations to stop providing gas to U.N. vehicles, but it had little consequence as the U.N. brings in its own supply already. -- SPA
