UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (UPI) -- Suggestions that incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo controls a sizable military force don't correlate with facts on the ground, a U.N. special envoy said.
The political fallout from a November presidential election in Ivory Coast is pushing the country to the brink of civil war.
Y.J. Choi, the U.N. special envoy to the Ivory Coast, said the situation on the ground is moving in favor of Alassane Ouattara, the candidate recognized by the international community as the winner of the election.
Choi said in an interview with Radio France International that U.N. peacekeepers were "all over" parts of the country during the weekend despite pressure from Gbagbo's camp.
Choi added that assumptions regarding the size of the force loyal to Gbagbo "do not quite correspond to the facts since that majority of the military are not prepared to fight".
Fighting in the commercial capital Abidjan escalated during the weekend as national and international leaders said the country is on the verge of civil war.
Officials with the U.N. refugee agency said bodies were piling up in the streets of Abidjan as fighting escalates between forces loyal to the rival leaders.
Choi noted that there were "promising signs" that the situation was coming to an end. UPI
