Switzerland's federal council today agreed to freeze any assets of Tunisia's ousted president and the incumbent leader of Ivory Coast.
The Swiss president, Micheline Calmy-Rey, told reporters the measures would take effect immediately and target Tunisia's former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and the Ivorian incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo.
She said the moves aimed to "encourage" the two countries to seek help in a possible criminal case against the men, and it was "very unlikely" that any funds linked to them had left Switzerland in recent days.
Ben Ali fled Tunisia on Friday amid major public protests. Many countries want Gbagbo to leave power in Ivory Coast following elections in November that they say were won by Alassane Ouattara.
