Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo Won’t Cede Power, Mediators Step In

After months of controversy surrounding the election results in Ivory Coast, mediators from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), have been sent in to try and resolve the political crisis before it turns violent. Four leaders from the 15-nation ECOWAS talked with incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo yesterday, in hopes of convincing him to cede his presidency to Alassane Ouattara, who won the election last November.

ECOWAS is expected to make a decision today on how to handle the impasse, and military action could be in the equation. John James, BBC reporter, brings the latest from the Ivorian capital of Abidjan. And Mamadou Diouf, director of the Institute of African studies at Columbia University, says he would like to see military action avoided, but believes it might be necessary. And if military action does happen, he says, you can expect it will be extremely bloody.