(CNN) -- The disputed head of the Ivory Coast will not step down, one of his key ministers said Saturday, despite the threat by West African leaders to use military force to force him out.
A day earlier, a statement from the 15-member Economic Community of West African States said its 15 members would not hesitate to use "legitimate force" if necessary to defuse an escalating crisis in the Ivory Coast.
But Alcide Djedje, the foreign affairs minister for incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo, on Saturday dismissed the threat as part of a Western plot spearheaded by France. He said that his regime views the prospect of outside military action unlikely, claiming that the West African group's members would be reluctant to send soldiers into the Ivory Coast.
The organization's move was the latest to isolate Gbagbo, amid sweeping international sentiment that he is not the Ivory Coast's rightfully elected leader and that his forces have perpetrated human rights abuses against his opponents.
The United Nations, African Union, European Union and numerous individual nations have called for Gbagbo to step down, with many also calling out his regime for its actions against political foes in the past week that have reportedly killed scores of people.
Still, the call from the Economic Community was especially significant, given that the Ivory Coast is a member and its mention of possible military action. CNN
