Ivory Coast

"West African envoys will resume talks with incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo, left, on January 3." (Reuters)

Cote d'Ivoire on "Edge of Genocide"
AlJazeera.net, December 30, 2010
"Cote d'Ivoire is 'on the brink of genocide,' according to the country's new UN ambassador appointed by Alassane Ouattara, who is viewed by the UN, European Union, US and African Union as the winner over incumbent Laurent Gbagbo following last month's presidential election. Youssoufou Bamba made the remarks after presenting his credentials to Ban Ki-Moon, the UN secretary-general, on Wednesday, making him the first Ouattara government envoy to assume a diplomatic post since the November 28 poll. Bamba warned that the tug-of-war over the presidency was pushing the West African country to 'the brink of genocide.' 'The situation is very serious,' Bamba, 60, told journalists after meeting with Ban in New York. 'Houses have been marked according to your tribe. What will be next? Something should be done.' A spokesman for Gbagbo said that the government would cut off diplomatic ties with countries that recognise ambassadors named by Ouattara. 'The government would like to make it known that in the light of such decisions, it reserves the right to apply reciprocity in ending the missions of their ambassadors in Ivory Coast,' the government's spokesman said in a statement on national television. The EU has said that it will tighten sanctions next month against Gbagbo, expanding a list of his supporters to be targeted, diplomats said on Wednesday. [...]"