The Associated Press is reporting that France urged its citizens to leave Ivory Coast on Wednesday after the U.N. chief warned that the former French colony in West Africa faces "a real risk" of return to civil war following the disputed presidential election. The U.N. and other world leaders recognize Alassane Ouattara as the winner of the Nov. 28 runoff vote. Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent who refuses to concede defeat and leave the presidency, said late Tuesday that "the international community has declared war on Ivory Coast." Gbagbo said in the televised speech that he doesn't want "any blood to be spilled," but maintained that he was president of the country. Over the weekend, in an escalation of tensions, he ordered all U.N. peacekeepers out of the country immediately.
We suspect that French citizens need to heed the warning. We can't believe that a potential civil war is brewing over a contested presidential election. Gbagbo has been president since 2000. If he doesn't have enough humility to step down, then perhaps he should take a hint? It's time to go, and people shouldn't have to die because of it.
Read more at Yahoo News.