UN calls for emergency aid for Côte d’Ivoire civilians caught in violence

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UN calls for emergency aid for Côte d’Ivoire civilians caught in violence

2011-04-08 05:56:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations (UN) on Thursday warned about the humanitarian situation inside Côte d’Ivoire, saying emergency aid is needed now to help hundreds of thousands of civilians caught up in the deadly violence that has engulfed the West African country.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos described her recent visit to Côte d’Ivoire and neighboring Liberia as "deeply troubling."

Former Côte d’Ivoire president Laurent Gbagbo has refused to step down, and those backing Alassane Ouattara, the UN-certified winner of last November's presidential election, have endured violent fighting against pro-Gbagbo forces.

The heaviest fighting is now focused on the commercial capital, Abidjan, where pro-Gbagbo forces are concentrated. The UN peacekeeping mission (UNOCI) is carrying out ground and air patrols to try to protect civilians and to respond to requests for assistance from journalists and foreign nationals.

UNOCI troops deployed to secure the Félix Houphouët-Boigny bridge in Abidjan were shelled from the lagoon side late Wednesday and had to return fire.

Amos said she saw evidence of "what must have been terrible violence" and spoke to numerous people who had either endured or witnessed atrocities as a result of the fighting between forces.

"People are immensely traumatized," Amos said. "They have witnessed terrible violence, and many have been directly targeted."

Amos heard stories of women witnessing the execution of their husbands, of women and girls being abducted, and of children being forcibly separated from their parents.

"I spoke to women who had hidden in a swamp for three days, hiding from militias," Amos said. "I heard claims there are hundreds if not thousands of people still hiding in the forests. I also heard claims that militias are hunting people with dogs."

The Under-Secretary-General stressed that there can be no impunity for the perpetrators of crimes against civilians, stating that the full extent of the atrocities that have been carried out is not yet known, but they add up to "extremely serious human rights violations."

Earlier in the week prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague said they might open investigations into the "widespread and systematic" killings in Côte d’Ivoire in recent weeks.

Amos noted that given the deep roots of the violence and discord in Côte d’Ivoire, "a sustained process of reconciliation is going to be needed" throughout the country, but she said that the parties to the fighting must ensure that humanitarian aid can reach those in need.

Furthermore, Amos called for immediate humanitarian aid to alleviate the worst suffering; to provide protection for people; and to help reduce the tensions which will only escalate as food and other basic essentials run short.

UN aid officials have estimated that up to 1 million Ivorians have been displaced by the violence, with some internally displaced and others forced to flee into neighboring countries, particularly Liberia.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday told reporters in Washington, D.C. that it was "absolutely necessary" for Gbagbo to step down and cede power to Ouattara.

"He has to mind – if he believes he was a leader of the Ivory Coast for some time – then he has to mind the well-being and safety and security and prosperity of his people, where he was once the president. This is his last opportunity to gracefully exit from this. I urge again that he do should do all [that] he can do, as an Ivory Coast citizen."

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