W African bloc threatens Gbagbo

Mr Gbagbo now seems boxed in on all sides

The West African regional bloc Ecowas has told incumbent Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo to stand down or expect to face “legitimate force”.

The statement came at the end of emergency talks on the crisis sparked by a disputed election last month.

Ecowas and other international bodies have recognised Mr Gbagbo’s rival Alassane Ouattara as the winner.

The Ivory Coast’s Constitutional Council says Mr Gbagbo was elected, citing vote-rigging in some areas.

The election was meant to unite the country after a civil war in 2002 split the world’s largest cocoa producer in two.

Ecowas said after its summit in Abuja, Nigeria, that it would send an envoy to the country to meet Mr Gbagbo.

It would also convene a meeting of defence ministers to plan military action if he refused to back down, it said.

The BBC’s Thomas Fessy in the main city Abidjan says the pressure from Ecowas has not come as a surprise, and means that Mr Gbagbo is now definitely boxed in on all sides.

On Thursday state television, one of the key elements keeping him in power, was taken off the air in areas outside Abidjan.

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