Regional body meets to discuss Ivory Coast crisis

Leaders from countries including Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia and Senegal arrived Tuesday in the Nigerian capital Abuja for a meeting of the 15-nation ECOWAS, a regional body which has declared support for Ouattara.
Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo had himself sworn in as president last week, even though Ivory Coast's electoral commission had declared his presidential challenger, Alassane Ouattara the winner of the Nov. 28 election.
In a recent talk with press, Alassane renewed his desire to see a peaceful resolution to the crisis, and one in which the voice of the Ivorian people is respected.
The United Nations, United States, France, the European Union, the African Union and ECOWAS have all rejected Gbagbo's proclaimed election victory but he has control of the army and state television.
Ivory Coast's neighbours fear unrest could block trade routes and prompt a refugee crisis in a region still recovering from three civil wars in the past two decades.
Gbagbo has scorned the international rejection as an affront to Ivorian sovereignty and has threatened to expel the U.N. Ivory Coast envoy for interference in internal affairs.

Listen to Chris Altieri's report: