The government accused them of plotting against the country. Ivory Coast's decline worries countries throughout West Africa. Last week, the Organization of African Unity sent a delegation of seven presidents here to try to mediate the crisis. The group, led by president Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and South Africa's Thabo Mbeki, asked Guei to step aside as a candidate, allow all candidates to run and postpone elections for at least two months. Guei rejected the recommendations, a move that diplomats and analysts here said left him isolated in the region.
Relations are especially strained with Nigeria, West Africa's most powerful country.
Earlier this week, two senior Ivorian generals, Lassana Palenfo and Abdoulaye Coulibaly, sought asylum in the Nigerian Embassy here. Guei asked Nigeria to hand the men over, and Obasanjo publicly rejected the request. Guei's government also has been isolated from Western countries. News Jobs AP Shopping Archives Entertain.