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 ...

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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

Tag: Africa

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