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UN Resolution Seeks Ivory Coast Sanctions

26 March 2011 01:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. France and Nigeria have proposed a U.N. resolution that seek sanctions against Ivory Coast’s incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo, who is resisting pressure to give up power, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.
The measure calls for Mr. Gbagbo to immediately step down, stop using force against civilians and forbids the heavy use of weapons in the main city of Abidjan. It also seeks sanctions against Mr. Gbagbo’s closest advisors.
The French ambassador to the United Nations, Gerard Araud, warned during a Security Council meeting on Friday that Abidjan is â€œvery close to civil war.â€
Abidjan has been the scene of intense fighting between supporters of Mr. Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, who is the internationally recognized winner of a November presidential election.
The U.N. refugee agency said Friday up to one million people, most of them from Abidjan, have fled their homes. Spokeswoman Melissa Fleming blamed the exodus on â€œfears of an all-out war.â€
A coalition of 32 international groups has warned that the humanitarian situation had reached a â€œcritical level.â€
In Geneva, the U.N. Human Rights Council agreed on Friday to form an independent, international commission to investigate reports of human rights violations in Ivory Coast.
The Security Council is expected to take up the Ivory Coast resolution next week.
The United Nations says at least 462 people have been killed in violence since the crisis began.