France, Germany and the Netherlands urge nationals to leave Côte d'Ivoire

[News_Editor]

France, Germany and the Netherlands urge nationals to leave Côte d'Ivoire

2010-12-23 06:32:33 GMT+7 (ICT)

PARIS (BNO NEWS) -- France, Germany and the Netherlands on Wednesday urged its nationals to leave Côte d'Ivoire after the United Nations warned that the African country is at risk of another civil war, officials and local media reported.

French government spokesman Francois Baroin informed that France recommends its nationals in Côte d'Ivoire to leave temporarily due to the escalation of post-election violence, according to Radio France Internationale (RFI). Around 15,000 French citizens reside in the African country.

Germany and the Netherlands also advised its nationals to leave the country as current President Laurent Gbagbo continues to reject the election results which indicated opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara had won.

"The security situation is not guaranteed, tense and extremely fragile," the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its website. "Bursts of violence are unpredictable and can happen at any time. Dutch citizens in Côte d'Ivoire have been advised to (temporarily or not) leave the country."

On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon express his concerns over the safety of UN peacekeepers in Côte d'Ivoire after forces loyal to Gbagbo attacked them and tried to cut off supplies to the UN mission in the country (UNOCI).

"I am concerned that this disruption of life-support supplies for the mission and the Golf hotel will put our peacekeepers in a critical situation in the coming days," Ban said.

Gbagbo recently ordered the UN to remove its mission in the country. Instead, the UN Security Council renewed UNOCI for a further six months and threatened to impose sanctions on those who disrupt peace. Gbagbo and his supporters slammed the UN threats.

The UN body further said it is prepared to impose sanctions, including assets freeze and travel bans as announced earlier on Monday by the European Union. The Council sanctions would be imposed to anyone who is threatening the peace process, undermining the outcome of the elections, obstructing UNOCI, or committing human rights violations.

Violence erupted last week after Gbabgo refused leaving the helm of the West African country, which was divided by civil war in 2002 into a Government-controlled south and a rebel-held north. Approximately 50 people have been killed since last week and over 200 others have been injured.

In addition to those casualties, UNOCI earlier said it has received reports from hundreds of victims and members of their families about the abduction of individuals from their homes, especially at night, by unidentified armed individuals in military uniform.

Gbagbo continues to refute the presidential election results as he said that the vote count was marred with fraud and called for the annulment of votes in four regions. Ouattara's victory was ratified and backed by the UN, European Union, African Union and the international community.

However, incumbent President Gbagbo directed the Constitutional Council to review the results and the body canceled votes in seven regions and declared Gbagbo as winner, igniting controversy.

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