West African leaders struggle to end I.Coast crisis

ABIDJAN — African leaders struggled to find a peaceful solution to Ivory Coast's bloody political crisis Wednesday after threats of military action failed to convince strongman Laurent Gbagbo to step down.Three regional presidents have been tasked with breaking the country's post-election deadlock, which has seen deadly clashes between supporters of Gbagbo and his internationally-recognised rival Alassane Ouattara.The trio flew to Nigeria on Wednesday to brief Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan, chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), after late night talks with both would-be Ivorian leaders.Presidents Boni Yayi of Benin, Ernest Koroma of Sierra Leone and Pedro Pires of Cape Verde had gone to Abidjan to deliver Gbagbo an ultimatum: cede power to Ouattara or face regional military intervention.But they left after inconclusive talks and headed on to Abuja for further talks with the Nigerian president, who as head of West Africa's military and economic powerhouse would be expected to greenlight any invasion."The heads of state mission will return to Ivory Coast next week, to pursue its contacts and try to conclude the mediation process," Pires' office said.In a statement, it said the "Ivorian parties" had asked for "time to reflect in order to find a viable way to conclude the electoral process, which is the only way to promote durable peace and stability in this West African country."This stance differs from that taken by Ouattara's spokesman following the talks. Patrick Achi said Ouattara had told the envoys his status as head of state is "non-negotiable" and asked them to "return as soon as possible".Both Gbagbo and Ouattara claim to have won Ivory Coast's November 28 poll run-off, but only the latter has been recognised as president by the international community, including ECOWAS and the United Nations.Gbagbo's forces dominate the south of the country, home to the world's largest cocoa-exporting industry and the commercial capital Abidjan, while Ouattara's shadow governmen

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