African Union envoy Raila Odinga admitted Wednesday he had failed to achieve a breakthrough in Ivory Coast's political crisis and warned the country's strongman that time was running out on an amnesty offer.

Odinga, the Kenyan prime minister, expressed his impatience with Laurent Gbagbo before flying out of Abidjan, telling reporters that his "window of opportunity" for an amnesty was closing fast.

At the end of a 48-hour visit, he said Gbagbo had twice broken a promise to lift an armed blockade on the Abidjan hotel serving as the temporary headquarters of his rival Alassane Ouattara.

"In addition, the window of opportunity for any amnesty will continue to close if Mr Gbagbo's supporters continue to commit crimes against civilians and peacekeepers," Odinga said.

Odinga launched his second direct mediation attempt in a month on Monday with a proposal for talks between the rivals, with the goal of persuading Gbagbo to step down and end a seven-week standoff that has left scores dead and raised fears of civil war.

West African regional military chiefs were meanwhile meeting in Mali to put the final touches to an armed intervention plan to remove Gbagbo by force, and Odinga warned: "time is running out for an amicably negotiated settlement".

"Despite extensive discussions on Monday with Mr Laurent Gbagbo and president-elect Ouattara that went very late into the night, I regret to announce that the breakthrough that was needed did not materialise," Odinga told a press conference before flying to Ghana.

"One of the principal goals of my mission was to convince Mr Gbagbo that he needed to put his presidency on the agenda of the discussions," Odinga said.

"In addition it was imperative that the blockade of the Golf Hotel be lifted. Mr Gbagbo gave me an assurance that this blockade would be lifted yesterday but he broke that promise for the second time in two weeks."

He said he had urged Ouattara to provide Gbagbo with "iron-clad guarantees about his freedom to choose with dignity and security his future options including the option of continuing in politics in Cote d'Ivoire or to settle in a country of his choice."

He said Ouattara had confirmed to him that Gbagbo's allies would be given one-quarter of the cabinet positions in a new government line-up.

Ouattara is recognised as winner of the 28 November presidential election by the Ivory Coast's voting authority and the international community.

Gbagbo has said before that he is willing to talk with his rival but he has refused all offers to give up the presidency, including exile and immunity from prosecution for crimes against humanity.

The United Nations Security Council delayed until Wednesday a vote to send 2,000 extra troops into Ivory Coast after Russia raised objections, diplomats said.

The number is the maximum requested by UN commanders fearing a growing showdown with Gbagbo, who has demanded several times that UN forces leave. The new deployment would take the UN force up to about 11,500 troops.

Odinga was to fly directly to Accra on Wednesday after having said Monday he would go on for consultations in Ghana, Angola and Burkina Faso.

The envoy's spokesman said on Tuesday that he had no immediate plans to return to Ivory Coast.

Odinga said on 5 January after earlier talks in Abidjan that Gbagbo had been assured that he would "not be prosecuted or persecuted" if he stood down.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has said the tribunal is monitoring reports of abuses by Gbagbo's security forces and would charge anyone inciting atrocities.

The UN says at least 179 people have been killed in post-election violence but that it has been barred from investigating reports of mass graves.

UN rapporteurs said they feared violations being committed amounted to crimes against humanity.

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