Ivory Coast president dissolves Cabinet, says presidential spokesman
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - A presidential spokeswoman says Ivory Coast's president has dissolved the Cabinet. No reason was given for the sudden turn of events.
Kady Traore says that President Alassane Ouattara made the decision Wednesday.
Ouattara came to power in a deeply divisive 2010 election. He won the presidential runoff, but longtime ruler Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede and used the army to hold on to power. The international community intervened, using French and United Nations airstrikes to finally release Gbagbo's grip on power in April 2011.
Ouattara has since been accused of marginalizing Gbagbo's party, with tens of thousands of Gbagbo sympathizers fleeing to refugee camps in neighbouring Ghana. For the past several months, suspected allies of Gbagbo have led repeated attacks on military positions, including in Abidjan, where the presidential palace is located.
