ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The unstable political situation in the Ivory Coast is creating a humanitarian disaster, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
Incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to step down despite international support for his rival Alassane Ouattara. U.N. agencies are warning that the conditions are ripe for major ethnic conflict and African leaders said they were considering military force to pressure Gbagbo to step aside.
The ICRC said in a statement that political violence in the Ivory Coast was having "major humanitarian consequences," particularly in the country's western regions.
Dominique Liengme, the Ivorian head of the ICRC, said the human cost of the post-election crisis was "particularly high" in the cities of Lakota and Duekoue.
"Over the last three weeks, Ivorian Red Cross volunteers across the country have treated 114 casualties, taking 100 of them to hospital," she said in a statement. "They have also delivered 14 bodies to mortuaries."
The U.N. Security Council last week invoked a Chapter VII mandate for the Ivory Coast allowing for the use of military force.
Gbagbo, however, has called on U.N. forces to leave the country, a request denied by the United Nations.
