“President Ouattara is assuming power so we have lifted the sanctions,” Joseph Nsengimana, Rwanda’s AU ambassador and chair of the bloc’s Peace and Security Council, told journalists after council members met in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
“We recommended that the president-elect (should) pursue building peace in Ivory Coast, reconcile people and make Ivory Coast a country where people are in unity,” he said.
The African Union suspended Ivory Coast’s membership after a disputed election late last year which saw Gbagbo refuse to cede power to Ouattara triggering months of political deadlock and violence that brought the country’s economy to its knees.
Forces loyal to Ouattara arrested Gbagbo earlier this month, ending a crisis in which more than 1,000 were killed and millions displaced. Ouattara now faces the daunting challenge of uniting a deeply divided nation.
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