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— Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has left Ivory Coast after he tried to persuade sitting president Laurent Gbagbo to step down peacefully.
The staff of the luxury hotel where Obasanjo was staying and a member of his security detail confirmed that Obasanjo had left early Monday for Nigeria.
Gbagbo has stubbornly refused to step down even though results issued by the electoral commission and certified by the United Nations showed he lost to opposition leader Alassane Ouattara by a near 9-point margin.
Obasanjo shuttled between the two men, seeing each once on Saturday night following his arrival, and twice on Sunday. The purpose of the visit was to exhaust the diplomatic options before a military intervention is considered.
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