AU meets on Ivory Coast crisis

2011-01-28 18:31

Addis Ababa - The African Union will hold a crucial meeting in Addis Ababa later on Friday to seek a solution to Ivory Coast's two-month old political crisis, an official said.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and his counterpart Jacob Zuma will attend the AU's Peace and Security Council meeting alongside Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the AU mediator to the Ivorian crisis.

Odinga has failed to make headway in the leadership tussle between incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, the man recognised as the winner of the November 28 presidential run-off.

The initial consensus by a majority of African leaders that Gbagbo should step aside or face military action seems to be waning. Zuma last week called for a change of strategy rather than calling on one of the leaders to go.

Officially Ivory Coast has not sent a representative to a weekend summit here as it has been suspended by the AU, but a delegation of "women patriots from Ivory Coast", a pro-Gbagbo organisation led by former minister Genevieve Bro Grebe arrived on Friday in Addis Ababa, the AU headquarters.

- AFP