JOIN USTensions mount in Ivory Coast
The United Nations and other world leaders recognise Alassane Ouattara as the winner of the November 28 runoff vote. Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent who refuses to concede defeat and leave the presidency, said late on Tuesday that “the international community has declared war on Ivory Coast.”
Gbagbo said in the televised speech that he doesn’t want “any blood to be spilled”, but maintained he was president of the country. Over the weekend, he ordered all UN peacekeepers out of the country immediately in an escalation of tensions.
The UN considers Ouattara president and is staying put, raising fears that UN personnel and other foreigners could be targeted in violence as tensions mount.
The US State Department has already ordered most of its personnel to leave because of what officials called a deteriorating security situation and growing anti-Western sentiment. French government spokesman Francois Baroin told reporters on Wednesday that France recommends that its citizens who can leave Ivory Coast do so temporarily, citing “undeniable sources of worry” in the country.
At least 13,000 French people are currently believed to be in Ivory Coast, which maintains close ties to France and was once the crown jewel of its former West African colonial empire.
Over the weekend, masked gunmen opened fire on the UN base in Ivory Coast, though no one from the global body was harmed in the attack. Two military observers were wounded in another attack. The UN also says armed men have been intimidating UN staff at their private homes.
Toussaint Alain, an adviser for Gbagbo, said he did not believe soldiers or people close to Gbagbo would carry out such acts. The UN says more than 50 people have been killed in recent days in Ivory Coast, and that it has received hundreds of reports of people being abducted from their homes at night by armed assailants in military uniforms. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has cited growing evidence of “massive violations of human rights”.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday also said that peacekeepers will face a critical situation in the coming days unless Gbagbo removes a blockade around his opponent’s headquarters. Hundreds of UN troops are protecting the hotel where Ouattara is based, but they are encircled by forces loyal to Gbagbo.
Gbagbo said late on Tuesday that people could leave the Golf Hotel, but Ouattara’s people say they are still not venturing out for fear of a trap.
The UN has said that its supply convoys are still being turned back and that food, water and needed medication are not getting through.
“Any attempt to starve the UN mission into submission will not be tolerated,” Ban said on Tuesday.