Cote d'Ivoire: Army Chief Defects

31 March 2011
allAfrica.com

Embattled Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo's army chief of staff has sought refuge at the residence of South Africa's envoy in Cote d'Ivoire.

South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation announced on Thursday that General Phillippe Mangou had sought refuge at the official residence of its ambassador, Zodwa Lallie, on Wednesday night.

He was accompanied by his wife and five children.

Pretoria said it was consulting with "the relevant parties in the Ivory Coast, Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and the United Nations regarding this matter."

Mangou's action comes at a time when forces loyal to the internationally-recognized Ivorian president, Alassane Ouattara, have seized the administrative capital, Yamoussoukro, and the country's cocoa-exporting port, San Pedro, and now threaten the commercial capital, Abidjan.

Gbagbo is holding onto the presidency in Abidjan after refusing to accept his defeat in an election last December. Ouattara is operating out of an Abidjan hotel under United Nations protection.

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