Several thousand people gathered for a mass rally in support for Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo Saturday, under international pressure to leave power as the country slides towards civil war.
As loud music blared from speakers, the crowd of mostly youths gathered in front of the presidential palace, brandishing Ivorian flags and placards reading "Gbagbo president", "Ivory Coast belongs to Ivorians" and "I am ready to free my Ivory Coast."
Charles Ble Goude, Gbagbo's fiery youth minister and leader of the militant "Young Patriots", called on all Ivorians to attend the overnight rally to "show that Laurent Gbagbo has majority support." He said the meeting, to run from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning, would be a "popular uprising" to include camping and celebrations to glorify God.
Ble Goude arrived at the rally to loud cheering, carrying a mattress on his back. The meeting comes amid mounting international concern that Gbagbo's refusal to cede the presidency to internationally recognised election victor Alassane Ouattara is leading the country to full-blown civil war.
US President Barack Obama said late Friday that if Gbagbo and his supporters continued to cling to power, it would "lead to more violence, more innocent civilians being wounded and killed and more diplomatic and economic isolation." The November 28 election "was free and fair," Obama said in a video message to the leaders and people of Ivory Coast. "And President Alassane Ouattara is the democratically elected leader of the nation."
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