Ivory Coast Crisis Nearing End

The New York Times reports:

DAKAR, Senegal — The rule of Ivory Coast’s strongman,  Laurent Gbagbo, took another blow on Wednesday as the country’s administrative capital fell to forces loyal to his rival, Alassane Ouattara, with little resistance.

The battle for the country’s presidency appeared to be entering a decisive phase. By late afternoon, Mr. Ouattara’s troops were patrolling the streets of the capital, Yamoussoukro, to welcoming greetings and celebratory gunfire from citizens, two residents there said. Meanwhile, Mr. Ouattara’s prime minister, Guillaume Soro, delivered an ultimatum to Mr. Gbagbo on French radio and television, saying he had only “several hours” to give up power.

Spokesmen for Mr. Ouattara, the man recognized internationally as the winner of elections last November, said the taking of Yamoussokrou had been accomplished with hardly a shot fired — another easy victory in a week when Mr. Gbagbo’s forces appeared to be crumbling from east to west in the West African nation.

“It was like butter,” said the spokesman for Mr. Ouattara’s military, Capt. Léon Alla, who added that there had been gunfire exchanges in a town just to the north, shortly before the descent of the Ouattara forces into the capital.

The capture of Yamoussoukro on Wednesday was mostly a symbolic victory for Mr. Gbagbo’s opponents, as the country’s government and economy operate from the commercial capital, Abidjan. Still, Yamoussoukro, with a population of some 200,000, has resonance for Ivorians. It was both the birthplace and the brainchild of the country’s founder, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who led Ivory Coast to independence in 1960.

Mr. Houphouët-Boigny built a giant basilica there, and Mr. Gbagbo has continued his policy of designing grandiose projects for what had been a simple village until recent times. Capturing the city showed a clear rebel advance on Mr. Gbagbo’s terrain. “If they can do this today, it’s really tough for Gbagbo,” said Rinaldo Depagne, an Ivory Coast specialist with International Crisis Group’s West Africa office. “It’s the second city, the city of the founding father.”

The taking of Yamoussoukro put the opposition forces within 143 miles of Abidjan, the crucial stake in what has now become an open war for the presidency of what was once Francophone Africa’s economic leader.

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