Ivory Coast fighters loyal to President-elect Alassane Ouattara seized the key cocoa-exporting port of San Pedro as the United Nations imposed sanctions on incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo and urged him to give up power.
San Pedro, situated 310 kilometers (193 miles) west of the commercial capital, Abidjan, fell “without fighting,” said Meite Sindou, spokesman for Ouattara’s Prime Minister Guillaume Soro.
“Our troops moved forward without any difficulties,” Sindou said in a phone interview late yesterday. Ouattara’s Republican Forces only shot in the air as they advanced, he said.
The San Pedro Port is the second-biggest in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer. The facility handles 1 million metric tons of cargo annually, including cocoa, coffee and timber, according to Bloomberg data.
The Republican Forces also late yesterday seized Yamoussoukro, the political capital and the biggest of at least eight towns taken this week. The advance of the militia to the south has added military force to the diplomatic and economic pressure on Gbagbo to relinquish the presidency to Ouattara, who is internationally recognized as the winner of a Nov. 28 election. Gbagbo, whose forces have put up little resistance, refuses to cede power, alleging voter fraud.
The UN Security Council voted 15-0 yesterday to freeze the foreign assets and bar travel by Gbagbo, his wife Simone and top aides Desire Tagro, Alcide Djedje and Pascal Affi N’Guessan.
The resolution also asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send the report of a UN-mandated investigation of alleged human rights abuses to the council and “other relevant international organizations” such as the International Criminal Court.
The rapid advance of the Republican Forces raised hopes the four-month political crisis will soon be over. The country’s defaulted dollar-denominated bond rallied 7 percent to 42.688 cents on the dollar yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Cocoa for May delivery slumped to a 10-week low on hopes the impasse may ease and pave the way for a renewal of exports of the chocolate ingredient. The price dropped $70, or 2.3 percent, to $2,987 per metric ton by 5:20 p.m. in New York.
The advance by Ouattara’s forces has been “much more rapid than expected,” said Young-jin Choi, the head of the UN mission in the country, in an interview with CNN. The troops are within “striking distance” of Abidjan, he said.
Gbagbo’s spokesman, Ahoua Don Mello, didn’t answer calls made to his mobile phone yesterday. The incumbent president has called for a cease-fire and talks at the African Union as the rival forces move south.
At the same time, the enrolment of new troops who responded to a recruitment call last week by Gbagbo’s Youth Minister Charles Ble Goude began yesterday, according to the website of state-owned Radio Television Ivoirienne.
Ouattara rejected the call for talks after meeting on March 29 with leaders of four other opposition parties.
Tension is mounting in Abidjan, with at least five people shot dead in Adjame, a neighborhood that supports Ouattara, according to Parfait Yao, a witness who saw their bodies.
The port of San Pedro was quiet after being captured by the Republic Forces, Alphonse Gouanou, a resident of the city, said in a phone interview.
“We were expecting Ouattara’s forces to take the town,” he said. “Everybody is at home. The city is lifeless.”
Sindou said the rebels also captured the Western town of Gagnoa, which was confirmed by resident Abdul Kone.
To contact the reporters on this story: Pauline Bax and Olivier Monnier in Abidjan via Accra at ebowers1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.
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