Ivory Coast crisis:

African states at odds

I COAST: Cracks emerged Tuesday in African efforts to end a power struggle in Ivory Coast, as Uganda became the latest country to question UN recognition of Alassane Ouattara as its President.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said he differed from the UN line on the crisis, as a delegation of West African states prepared a US trip to lobby President Barack Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to back the possible use of force to oust incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo.

The split illustrated the potential for rows at an African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa this week when the 53-nation group must decide its next steps after the disputed presidential election November 28 in the world's biggest cocoa producing country. Major cocoa exporting companies said they had stopped registering beans for export in compliance with a call by Ouattara for a one-month ban on deliveries, the latest attempt to force Gbagbo from office by blocking his access to funds.

Breaking ranks with an AU line which so far has backed the United Nations in recognising Ouattara as the election winner, Museveni said the vote had to be investigated.

"Uganda differs with the U.N. and the international community on Ivory Coast," presidential spokesman Tamale Mirundi told Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper, quoting Museveni.

Museveni called for a probe into the election process, including the registration of voters.

ABUJA, Wednesday, Reuters