AFP - West African leaders met in ordinary summit in Abuja Wednesday examined the possibility of asking the UN to go further in its response to the Ivorian crisis worsens.
"I think we can pass a resolution asking the UN to take action a bit more serious about the situation in Côte d'Ivoire," said Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS, 15 countries).
The meeting held with representatives of UN and African Union (AU), was completed shortly after 20:00 local time (1900 GMT).It will resume and will end Thursday, and a final statement on Côte d'Ivoire will be published, said participants.
Goodluck Jonathan is the current chairman of ECOWAS.
Stressing "the commitment and collective determination" of the regional organization to end the election crisis in Côte d'Ivoire, which has nearly 440 deaths, according to the UN since the presidential election of 28 November 2010, he hoped that this would be possible "without the use of legitimate force".
Three months ago, the West African leaders have threatened to oust Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo out by force if he persisted in refusing to cede the presidency to Alassane Ouattara, recognized winner of the election by the Almost all of the international community.
Mr Gbagbo still occupies the presidency and now there are fears a civil war.
Chairman of the AU Commission, Jean Ping, absent from the summit, in a message deemed "serious concern" the developments of recent weeks. Noting an "escalation", Mr Ping urged the summit to "begging Mr. Gbagbo to do what is right."He added that the AU was about to appoint a "senior representative" for Côte d'Ivoire.
In the morning, hundreds of West Africans have protested outside the ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja to demand an end to violence in Côte d'Ivoire.
One of them was invited to speak before the summit, asked the officer to "redouble efforts" before bursting into tears.
The military option in Côte d'Ivoire seems for now ruled out by ECOWAS. The Nigerian foreign minister, Odein Ajumogobia has highlighted that the UN should validate any armed intervention.And the Court of Justice of Ecowas has urged the community last week to refrain from the use of force in Cote d'Ivoire.
John Shinkaiye, chief of staff Jean Ping, said to AFP that "ECOWAS and the AU agreed that the force be our last resort after all peaceful means have failed."
Among those present were the heads of state summit Boni Yayi (Benin), Blaise Compaore (Burkina Faso), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia), Amadou Toumani Toure (Mali), Abdoulaye Wade (Senegal), Ernest Koroma (Sierra Leone) and Faure Gnassingbe (Togo), was a journalist from AFP.
As the special representative of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in West Africa, Said Djinnit.
The West African leaders will choose the successor of Goodluck Jonathan at the rotating presidency of ECOWAS and review the suspension of Guinea and Niger.
Excluded from the organization due to military coups, in 2008 and 2010, these countries have recently held elections for a transfer of power to civilian rule.
