ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Supporters of Laurent Gbagbo said they would seize a hotel occupied by Ivorian opposition leader Alassane Ouattara on New Year's Day, a minister said.
The international community has recognized Ouattara as the winner of a November election meant to unite a country divided by a 2002 civil war. Gbagbo, the incumbent president, has refused to step down, however, and military forces remain loyal to the leader.
Charles Ble Goude, the youth and employment minister, said on state television that military forces loyal to Gbagbo would "liberate" the Golf Hotel stronghold of Ouattara on Saturday, Bloomberg News reports.
Political violence in the Ivory Coast erupted after the November election produced rival claims to the presidency. More than 150 people were killed and reports are circulating that Gbagbo is concealing mass graves in the country.
Washington, for its part, is laying out plans to evacuate its diplomats from the West African country should violence escalate. The United Nations warned the situation is "on the brink of genocide" after a U.N. peacekeeper was slashed with a machete when his convoy was attacked on Abidjan.
West African leaders said they were considering military intervention in the Ivory Coast, though Bloomberg News notes many leaders lack the political will to carry out the threats. U.N. peacekeepers have so far pledged to uphold their mandate of monitoring a cease-fire brokered in 2003.
Gbagbo, Bloomberg News adds, is reluctant to step down for fear he may suffer the same fate as former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who is facing war crimes charges in an international court. UPI
