The BBC’s John James said talks may go on to avoid military action against Gbagbo.
Trio to try new Ivorian peace bid
Three West African leaders will return to Ivory Coast on Monday for more negotiations to end the impasse over last month’s disputed elections.
The announcement came a day after they failed to persuade incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo to stand down.
They had hoped Mr Gbagbo would agree to cede power to Alassane Ouattara, widely considered to be the true winner.
The regional body Ecowas has threatened to use force if he refuses to go.
“Whenever there is disagreement, it is dialogue that will solve issues”
Goodluck Jonathan Nigeria’s president
State-controlled TV has indicated that several million African nationals from other countries living in Ivory Coast might be at risk if threats from African countries of military intervention against Mr Gbagbo continue.
The presidents of Benin, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde had travelled to the main city, Abidjan, as representatives of Ecowas.
Afterwards the three men went on to Nigeria to brief the chairman of Ecowas, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
“They are going back on 3 January and when they come back from this second visit, the outcome will determine the next action,” Mr Jonathan said after the briefing, Reuters news agency reports.
“Whenever there is a dispute, whenever there is disagreement, it is dialogue that will solve issues,” AP news agency quotes him as saying.
Tuesday’s visit was being seen as a final chance to urge Mr Gbagbo to peacefully cede to Mr Ouattara – who is currently holed up in a hotel in the city protected by around 800 UN peacekeepers.
There is tension in Abidjan over possible military intervention, and prayer sessions have been held Few details of the separate talks with the two rivals have emerged.
But Mr Gbagbo appears to be reinforcing his position.
One of his advisers told the BBC Mr Gbagbo was still the democratically elected president and that the Ecowas intervention was part of an “international plot” against him.
The BBC’s John James in Abidjan says the three presidents that visited represent some of the smallest countries in West Africa, but they are seen as being on good terms with Mr Gbagbo, particularly Cape Verde, which has close ties to Angola, Mr Gbagbo’s strongest international ally.
Analysis
Ivory Coast is different from Liberia and Sierra Leone. It is a functioning wealthy country with a strong army, so a force will meet some credible resistance.
Furthermore, it doesn’t look as if Ecowas is capable of putting a credible force on the ground: Nigeria is heading towards elections and may not want to put in troops for that long a time; Ghana has elections in 2012 and Senegal has its own problems with dynastic succession. So the key countries that would have to contribute may not have the political stomach and the temerity.
I would have thought an emphasis on sanctions, bank accounts, no-fly zones, seizure of properties – total isolation on the continent – would have been a first step.
But it looks as if there has been a hastiness to demonstrate that “we can deal with Gbagbo” – and in doing so Ecowas, the African Union and the United Nations have actually closed too many doors that limit their options for engagement and manoeuvre.
Earlier on Tuesday, a UN peacekeeper was wounded in the arm with a machete when his convoy was attacked by a crowd in a Gbagbo stronghold.
Mr Gbagbo has accused the UN – which has some 9,500 peacekeepers in the country – of interfering in Ivorian affairs and has ordered it to leave.
The UN has refused to do so. It says at least 173 people have died in violence and scores of others have been tortured since the 28 November elections.
Violence broke out after Mr Ouattara’s victory was overturned by the Constitutional Council, a body headed by an ally of Mr Gbagbo, citing claims that results were rigged in the north.
Almost 20,000 people – mostly women and children – have fled Ivory Coast for neighbouring Liberia, fearing further unrest.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says 15,120 people from villages in western Ivory Coast are known to have crossed the border and another 4,000 arrivals have been reported.
Our correspondent says Ivorians had hoped these elections would close the chapter on the country’s most difficult 10 years, but instead they have opened up a new period of instability.
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