AU panel on Cote d'Ivoire comprises 5 presidents, AU Commission chief, ECOWAS head

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The panel set up by African Union (AU)'s Peace and Security Council to deal with the Cote d'Ivoire crisis is composed of presidents from Mauritania, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Chad, as well as the chief of the AU Commission and the head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), AU Commission chief Jean Ping announced here as AU ended its 16th summit.

The panel will evaluate the situation in Cote d'Ivoire and come up with a conclusion that will be binding on all parties after endorsement by the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC).

The panel will conclude its work within a period not exceeding one month.

The action has been viewed as part of AU's continued effort to solve Cote d'Ivoire's crisis in a peaceful manner. The crisis in Cote d'Ivoire has been the main topic of discussion at the summit.

The country has been trapped in a political impasse since the landmark presidential run-off held on Nov. 28. Both the incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and opposition leader Alassane Ouattara claimed victory and swore themselves in as president of the country, and formed their respective governments.

Gbagbo was backed by the country's Constitutional Council, while Ouattara has the support of the electoral commission and the international community including the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States.

ECOWAS has been urging Gbagbo to step down and vowed the use of "legitimate force" if he fails to heed its immutable demand.

Gbagbo has been defying international requests, and has ordered the UN peacekeeping mission in Cote d'Ivoire, known as UNOCI, to leave the country. The West African country was put at the real risk of a civil war.

The 16th summit ended here with an announcement that the next summit will be held in Equatorial Guinea, whose president took over AU's rotating presidency on Sunday.

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