Gbagbo’s grip on power slips
Embattled Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo’s survival in power was in increasing doubt Tuesday, as the French announced his surrender was being negotiated, three key generals deserted him, and he sheltered in a bunker at his house. "We are on the brink of convincing him to leave power," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told parliament ...
Embattled Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo's survival in power was in increasing doubt Tuesday, as the French announced his surrender was being negotiated, three key generals deserted him, and he sheltered in a bunker at his house.
Embattled Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo’s survival in power was in increasing doubt Tuesday, as the French announced his surrender was being negotiated, three key generals deserted him, and he sheltered in a bunker at his house.
"We are on the brink of convincing him to leave power," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told parliament in Paris, Reuters news service reported.
Gbagbo’s top three generals have offered to halt fighting, surrender their weapons and seek protection from U.N. peacekeepers, the United Nations said Tuesday. The admission of military defeat followed a barrage of U.N. and French airstrikes against key military installations and heavy weapons sites.
"The military battle is over," said Youssoufou Bamba, the U.N. envoy for Gbagbo’s rival, president-elect Alassane Ouattara. Gbagbo’s forces "have no ammunition, and they are surrendering. I understand they are now negotiating the terms of the surrender" with the French government, he said.
"For our part, we want Gbago’s military to surrender without conditions," Bamba said in a telephone interview.
Read the rest of my story at the Washington Post.
Colum Lynch was a staff writer at Foreign Policy between 2010 and 2022. Twitter: @columlynch
More from Foreign Policy

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?
The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.
Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing
The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.