Abidjan - Former prime minister, Mr Alassane Ouattara, the man at the centre of a pre-coup political crisis in Ivory Coast, headed for home from France yesterday, five days after soldiers toppled his long-time rival President Henri Konan Bedie. Mr Ouattara, a Muslim from the north, has been out of the country since September.
In Mali's capital, Bamako, neighbouring foreign ministers met to work out their response to the Christmas Eve coup in Ivory Coast, which leaders of the ruling junta say was not an attempt to bring Mr Ouattara to power. In Abidjan the military ruler, Gen Robert Guei, met religious leaders and urged them to support the transitional government.