Raila to meet Goodluck over Ivory Coast crisis
Prime Minister Raila Odinga accompanied by former DRC Congo foreign Minister Dr Bizima Karaha (R) and assistant Minister in his office Alfred Khangati (L) addresses the press at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Sunday before he left the country for Abidjan to mediate the political crisis in the west African country. Eric Bosire/PMPS
ABUJA,
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga will on Sunday meet President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja for talks on the political crisis in Ivory Coast, a presidency source said Saturday.
The source told AFP Odinga, who is African Union mediator on the Ivorian crisis, would meet Jonathan at 8:00 pm (1900 GMT), without providing details.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga left Nairobi for Ivory Coast on Sunday morning in a second trip to embark on a mission to broker peace following disputed presidential election results.
A statement released by Mr. Odinga's office said he was hopeful that the negotiations will lead to a peaceful resolution of the stalemate.
‘’The African Union (AU)and Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) is for a peaceful resolution of this crisis- military option will be the last resort as its likely to disrupt the economy and lead to loss of lives,’’ the statement said.
"I appeal to all peace loving African Countries to provide support in finding a solution to this crisis’’.
The Prime Minister was joined by Dr. Bizima Karaha, former foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who will be key to the negotiations and also provide translation services.
The Kenyan leader visited Nigeria on January 2 and held talks with Jonathan before heading to Abijan where he tried unsuccessfully to persuade Laurent Gbagbo to step down as president after the November 28 elections internationally recognised as having been won by his rival Alassane Ouattara.
More than 200 people have died since the political impasse in the cocoa-rich Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member nation.
Jonathan is the current chairman of ECOWAS which has threatened to use force to compel Gbagbo to cede power to Ouattara.
Meanwhile, Laurent Gbagbo on Saturday extended a curfew slapped on Abidjan districts largely loyal to his rival for the presidency, saying weapons used against his troops were still hidden there.
The 7:00 pm to 6:00 am curfew in Abobo and Anyama "is extended to the morning of Saturday, January 22," a presenter on state television said, reading a decree extending the measure that had been due to expire on Saturday.
The first curfew followed two days of unrest in which at least 11 people died, including eight members of Gbagbo's Defence and Security Forces (FDS), after hundreds of the troops moved into the area searching for weapons.
Abobo is a bastion of support for the man the world says beat incumbent Gbagbo in a November 28 presidential run-off, Alassane Ouattara, who remains holed up in an Abidjan hotel resort, besieged by Gbabgo troops.
More than 200 people have died since the vote. Most of the world, the United Nations and the Independent Electoral Commission say that Quattara is the winner and he has been sworn in as president.
The constitutional council has declared Gbagbo the winner, and he has also been sworn in as president.
Asked why the curfew had been extended, Gbagbo's government spokesman Ahoua Don Mello told AFP: "Because there are a certain number of places that have been identified as concealing weapons of war.
"These places have not yet all been completely looked at so it is important for the curfew to continue so that we can find these weapons. These are weapons of war, Kalashnikovs etc have been found in these areas.
"The work continues until we have collected all of these weapons," he said, declining to say how many had so far been seized.
