UN: fresh clashes break out in west Côte d’Ivoire

[News_Editor]

UN: fresh clashes break out in west Côte d’Ivoire

2011-03-29 06:13:54 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations (UN) said fresh fighting erupted on Monday in a strategic town in the western region of Côte d’Ivoire, as international concerns continue regarding the humanitarian situation in the West African country.

Top UN officials have voiced growing concern about the situation inside Côte d’Ivoire, where up to 1 million people have been displaced – some internally, and some to neighboring nations – since fighting first broke out in the wake of last November's disputed election.

On Monday, the UN's peacekeeping mission, known as UNOCI, said many residents of the town of Duékoué have gathered at its premises to seek protection from the fighting between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down since losing a UN-certified presidential election last year, and supporters of Alassane Ouattara, who won the election.

According to UNOCI, the Republican Forces of Côte d’Ivoire (FRCI), which back Ouattara, are continuing to push east, while media reports indicate that the fighting between the pro-Ouattara and pro-Gbagbo forces has been fierce.

Duékoué is seen as a strategic town in part because of its location in the country’s cocoa-growing region.

In Abidjan, the commercial capital of Côte d’Ivoire, UNOCI said the situation remains highly volatile, with UN patrols confirming that pro-Gbagbo forces have used mortars and heavy machine guns in the Abobo neighborhood, seen as a pro-Ouattara stronghold.

Furthermore, UN staff and vehicles have also been targeted across the city, with a UN-marked bus damaged by stone-throwing demonstrators on Sunday.

Nearly 500 people are reported to have been killed, and the violence appears to have stepped up in recent weeks.

The UN Human Rights Council is sending an independent international commission of inquiry to Côte d’Ivoire to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding allegations of serious rights abuses.

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