Côte d’Ivoire
30 December 2010
Two French lawyers, former foreign minister Roland Dumas and Jacque Verges, arrived Abibjan to support Gbagbo. Dumas told the press that they were “going to draw up a report and … going to defend the current authorities”. Verges stated that Gbagbo had become a symbol of a new “Africa, one that does not bow its head … that’s what French leaders cannot tolerate”.
29-30 January 2010
ECOWAS military chiefs (from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Togo, Niger and Nigeria) met in Abuja, Nigeria, to set in motion plans to forcefully remove Gbagbo if political persuasion failed.
29 December 2010
New Ivorian Ambassador to the UN,Youssoufou Bamba, cautioned that his country was on the verge of genocide.
29 December 2010
UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Alain Le Roy expressed reservations on Ivorian state television about attempts being made through that media to incite the local population to turn against UNOCI.
