Three West African presidents arrive in Ivory Coast

Three presidents from African nations arrived in Ivory Coast on Tuesday in an effort to thwart the country's political crisis. Presidents Yayi Boni of Benin, Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone and Pedro Pires of Cape Verde were meeting with Young-Jin Choi, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's special envoy and a representative of the African Union.

They are scheduled to meet with President Laurent Gbagbo and later with his challenger Alassane Ouattara, who both claimed victory in presidential elections held last month, CNN International reports.

The three leaders are in the country as a special delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to urge Gbagbo to step down.

ECOWAS issued a communique last Friday over Cote d'Ivoire at its heads of state meeting in Nigeria, warning Gbagbo the use of force if he refuses to give up power.

The document said that the "use of legitimate force not ruled out by ECOWAS if Gbagbo fails to heed demand", Xinhua informs.