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The disputed head of the Ivory Coast will not step down, one of his key ministers said Saturday, despite the threat by West African leaders to use military force to force him out. A day earlier, a statement from the 15-member Economic Community of West African States said its 15 members would not hesitate to use "legitimate force" if necessary to defuse an escalating crisis in the Ivory Coast. But Alcide Djedje, the foreign affairs minister for incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo, on Saturday dismissed the threat as part of a Western plot spearheaded by France. He said that his regime views the prospect of outside military action unlikely, claiming that the West African group's members would be reluctant to send soldiers into the Ivory Coast. The organization's move was the latest to isolate Gbagbo, amid sweeping international sentiment that he is not the Ivory Coast's rightfully elected leader and that his forces have perpetrated human rights abuses against ...

Shares in Randgold Resources have fallen 4% after the mining company warned political tension in the Ivory Coast would hit its gold production. Randgold said its Tongon mine was operating, but on a "curtailed basis". At least 173 people have been killed in the Ivory Coast following last month's disputed election. Randgold now expects to produce about 35,000 ounces of gold this year.   A second mill had been delayed because delivery of components had been held up in the Abidjan port and by shipping delays caused by the political crisis. The company also said its fourth-quarter performance would be affected by a "below-target" contribution from its Loulo complex in Mali. "We knew that 2010 was going to be a challenging year and the fourth quarter is turning out to be even tougher than anticipated," chief executive Mark Bristow said. Randgold shares fell 235p to 5,320p in morning trading.

The West African regional bloc Ecowas has told incumbent Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo to stand down or expect to face "legitimate force". Ecowas said after its summit in Abuja, Nigeria, that it would send an envoy to the country to meet Mr Gbagbo. It would also convene a meeting of defence ministers to plan military action if he refused to back down, it said. Before the talks, Nigerian Foreign Minister Odein Ajumogobia ruled out a power-sharing arrangement between the rivals like those set up in Kenya and Zimbabwe following disputed elections. The BBC's Thomas Fessy in the main city Abidjan says the pressure from Ecowas has not come as a surprise, and means that Mr Gbagbo is now definitely boxed in on all sides. The Ecowas chairman, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan , has already written personally to Mr Gbagbo to ask him to step down, and offered him refuge. There have been suggestions that member nations send in troops to strengthen the presen...