Thousands of firebrand militants who helped sweep President Laurent Gbagbo to power five years ago rallied at a soccer stadium in Ivory Coast's largest city to celebrate a UN-backed 12-month extension of his mandate.
Chaotic hordes of opposition youth demanding Gbagbo step down held a similar rally at another Abidjan stadium on Sunday that saw riot police lob tear gas at mobs who set burning tires ablaze in the streets.
There were no indications Tuesday's rally would turn violent, as many have in the past.
The influential leader of the pro-Gbagbo Young Patriots, Ble Goude, said he would tell militants to support a UN- and African Union-backed solution to Ivory Coast's latest crisis that calls for a one-year extension of Gbagbo's mandate, the appointment of a new prime minister, and the holding of a postponed presidential ballot within a year.
"My message is to call on the Young Patriots to stay within the peace process so that elections take place before 12 months," Ble Goude said before the rally. "Three years of war has brought us nothing except desolation and sadness. It's time to make peace."
Goude, considered a close ally of Gbagbo, has led unwieldy mobs tens of thousands strong into the highways where they burned tires and besieged foreign embassies to protest past peace deals seen as unfavorable to the loyalist cause.
On Sunday, Gbagbo said he would name a new prime minister within days to ensure a presidential ballot is held within 12 months.
The rebels reacted by proclaiming their leader, Guillaume Soro, the new premier. The move was largely symbolic, however, and was sure to increase tensions and add to confusion over who will replace the incumbent premier, Seydou Diarra.
Gbagbo has ruled the world's top cocoa producer since winning elections in 2000 that the late General Robert Guei tried to rig. Two years later, he lost control of the northern half of the country to rebels who took up arms against him after a failed coup.
A long-awaited presidential vote was initially set to have been held on Sunday, but Gbagbo canceled it, blaming rebels for failing to disarm. Government militia have also failed to lay down arms under a UN-backed nationwide disarmament plan.
Gbagbo says the Constitution gives him the right to postpone the vote and stay in power because of the conflict. Rebels and opposition leaders in Abidjan dispute his interpretation of the document and say he has no legal right to stay in power.
Known as a peaceful, economic powerhouse for decades, Ivory Coast has been in decline since Guei led the West African country's first coup d'etat in 1999.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese