Côte d’Ivoire
31 March 2011
Ouattara appealed in a televised address for Gbagbo’s soldiers to join him in order to prevent further bloodshed. The head of the military police, Edouard Kassarate, reportedly defected from Gbagbo and went to the operational headquarters of Ouatarra at the Golf Hotel. Other defections were also reported.
30 March 2011
The army chief of the Gbagbo camp, General Phillippe Mangou, sought refuge at the residence of South Africa’s Ambassador.
30 March 2011
The Council adopted resolution 1975 imposing targeted sanctions against Gbagbo and four of his associates, including his wife.
29 March 2011
The Gbagbo camp called for a ceasefire as the pro-Ouatarra Republican Forces of Côte d’Ivoire (former Forces nouvelles) headed towards Abidjan, after taking control of a number of towns including the administrative capital Yamoussoukro and the key port of San Pedro.
26 March 2011
Ouattara rejected the AU’s choice of Foreign Minister Jose Brito of Cape Verde as its High Representative for the implementation of the political solution recommended by the AU high level panel. Ouattara indicated that Brito’s close personal and political relationship with Gbagbo made him unsuitable for a mediatory role.
