Military intervention in Ivory Coast need not trigger civil war, presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara said today, as his rival seemed to reverse a pledge to lift a blockade on his headquarters.
Mr Ouattara said he preferred a peaceful solution to his post-election standoff with incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo.
He dismissed participating in any negotiations, telling France 24 television Mr Gbagbo must "leave power to allow Ivory Coast to return to normal".
Mr Gbagbo has refused to cede power to Mr Ouattara, widely seen as winner of a disputed November 28th election, despite international pressure, sanctions and the threat of force, and he has accused world leaders of meddling in Ivory Coast's internal affairs.
Mr Ouattara's aides have called for a regional West African force to make good on a threat to remove Mr Gbagbo if he refuses to go, but there are fears it may not be able to attempt such action without getting bogged down in war.
"I think he will be responsible for the situation that he will face. Military intervention does not mean that the Ivory Coast will ignite," Mr Ouattara said of his rival, from inside the Golf Hotel, where he remains under UN protection.
"All that needs to be done, as has been done in other African countries, is to come and get Gbagbo and remove him from the presidential palace."
Mr Ouattara said an offer this week by Mr Gbagbo to negotiate an end to the crisis was just an attempt to "buy time in order to recruit mercenaries to kill Ivorians and smuggle money out".
Ivory Coast security forces have maintained a blockade of the Golf Hotel, despite a promise by Mr Gbagbo to ease it. His foreign minister Alcide Djedje told a news conference today that the blockade would not be lifted while the 300 armed rebels loyal to Mr Ouattara remain inside.
"That constitutes a threat for the president. It's a question of the soldiers of the New Forces (rebels) leaving the hotel as a condition of lifting the blockade," he said.
A heavy military and police presence was still sealing off roads leading to the lagoon-side hotel today.
Only UN helicopters and supply trucks have access.
Mr Gbagbo is backed by his security forces, some Ivorian youth and militia groups, and the Constitutional Council, which overturned Mr Ouattara's election win, alleging fraud.
He has refused exile in South Africa, Nigeria and the United States. "President Gbagbo doesn't need to go to Washington. He's fine where he is and he intends to stay there," Djedje said.
US Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson said he should cede power to Mr Ouattara. "There is no question that the election in the Ivory Coast was stolen by President Gbagbo and those around him," he said today.
After efforts at mediation by four African leaders on Monday, Mr Gbagbo agreed to continue talks to end the crisis. But an end to the standoff seems far off.
More than 170 people have been killed since the dispute started, rekindling divisions in the country that have festered since the civil war of 2002-03.
Diplomats and security sources say many of the dead are victims of death squads operating at night in neighbourhoods where Mr Ouattara is popular, and the UN says hundreds more have been kidnapped by Ivorian forces and allied militias.
Mr Gbagbo's camp says these are lies meant to discredit him.
In a statement issued today, the UN mission condemned what it called human rights violations, including a raid by security forces on Mr Ouattara's party headquarters yesterday.
That raid killed an activist and left many people wounded, including some security forces, according to state media.
Reuters