African leaders consider military option to force Ivory Coast change

(CNN) -- West African heads of state will again ask self-declared President Laurent Gbagbo to relinquish power in Ivory Coast and will consider a military option to force him out if he does not go voluntarily, a Nigerian government official said Friday.

Gbagbo has so far declined to step down and to cede power in favor of Alassane Ouattara, who is considered the rightful winner of last month's poll.

Col. Yerima Mohammed, the Nigerian defense spokesman, said the heads of state will appeal January 4 to the incumbent president to step down peacefully.

"The committee of defense of West African States has met in compliance with West African heads of state to come up with a modality if Laurent Gbagbo does not hand over power," Mohammed said.

if the Tuesday appeal fails, Mohammed said, the defense committee will meet in Mali January 17-18 to finalize the military option and then will report back to the heads of state.

"When you are in political negotiations, you cannot say this is the last attempt, but if the January 4 talks fail, the heads of state may look at the military option."

That option is a last resort, Mohammed said, adding that it's hoped Gbagbo will step down peacefully.

Earlier this week, pleas to Gbagbo to leave office from the presidents of Benin, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde were ignored. The three leaders met with the incumbent president in Ivory Coast on Tuesday.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay sent individual letters to "a group of leaders in key authority positions" to remind them "in the strongest terms" that they will be held personally accountable for human rights violations," she said Friday.

"The international criminal justice system that has developed over the past 15 or so years has given us a tool of accountability we did not have before," Pillay said. "No longer can heads of state, and other actors, be sure that they can commit atrocious violations and get away with it."

The letter was sent to Gbagbo and the commanders of the Ivorian Republican Guard, the marines and security forces.

"We have received reports of at least two mass graves; however, UN human rights teams have been denied access to the scenes of these atrocities in order to investigate them," Pillay said. "Denying access to alleged mass grave sites and places where the victims' mortal remains are allegedly deposited constitutes a clear violation of international human rights and humanitarian law."

In London, British officials informed Philippe D Djangone-Bi, the man sent by Gbagbo to be the Ivory Coast ambassador to the U.K., that he is no longer recognized in the position as of Friday.

He immediately loses his diplomatic status, privileges or immunities, the U.K.Foreign Office said.

"We will be moving to recognize the appointee of President Alassane Ouattara in the usual manner," the office said in a statement.

Earlier this month, representatives of European Union countries agreed to only accept ambassadors appointed by Ouattara. France is reviewing the credentials of the Ouattara appointee, and Belgium has said it would accept the new president's ambassador.

Meanwhile, the French government has renewed its call for citizens -- especially those with children -- to leave Ivory Coast as soon as possible, the French Foreign Ministry said Friday. France last week had already warned of dangers in the West African nation and said its citizens should leave the country, if possible.

"Although foreigners have not so far been directly threatened, the French authorities renew their advisory to defer plans for trips to Ivory Coast, and to all the French who can... to temporarily leave Ivory Coast until the situation normalizes," the foreign ministry said in a statement Friday.

The United States and United Kingdom also have warned their citizens of possible violence in Ivory Coast, where tensions are mounting amid a political stalemate after a disputed presidential election in November.

The U.S. State Department has ordered non-emergency personnel and family members to leave Ivory Coast week. It also warned U.S. citizens against traveling there.

The U.K. Foreign Office also had advised British citizens to avoid travel to Ivory Coast and, for those already there, to leave the country unless they "have a pressing reason to remain."

More than 18,000 refugees have fled the country for neighboring Liberia amid the political standoff, according to the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees Friday.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that he was "deeply alarmed" to learn of a call by supporters of Gbagbo to attack the U.N.-protected Golf Hotel in Abidjan, where Ouattara has his headquarters.

Charles Ble Goude, a minister in Gbagbo's cabinet, whipped supporters into a frenzy at a rally Wednesday, warning Ouattara to leave Abidjan by Saturday.

"If you (Ouattara) don't do it by the first of January, when that day passes, I can no longer be responsible for the security of the people at the Golf Hotel. I ask the people of Ivory Coast to be ready with their bare hands to remove Ouattara!" he said.

"The people will launch an assault barehanded on the Golf Hotel to go get Guillaume Soro (Ouattara's prime minister) and his bizarre president, Alassane Ouattara," Ble Goude said.