Ivory Coast riots as protests call for UN withdraw
here we go again | 18.01.2006 12:02 | Analysis | Globalisation | World
Another civil war in Africa could be in the making as protesters riot in the Ivory Coast to kick out U.N. troops...
The Ivory Coast looks set to revert to civil war as pro-government protesters blocked streets in main city Abidjan for a third day on Wednesday and demanded the withdrawal of U.N. peacekeepers.
The country has been shaken by two days of violent anti-U.N. protests in the southern half controlled by President Laurent Gbagbo's government. The north has been held by anti-government rebels since a 2003 civil war.
Hundreds of protesters attacked U.N. bases and vehicles to oppose a call by foreign mediators to end the mandate of the national parliament, which is dominated by Gbagbo loyalists. Protesters were stopping and searching cars and checking identity papers at roadblocks thrown across streets. Public transport has ground to a halt and debris from Tuesday's riots is scattered about the streets.
At U.N. mission headquarters in Abidjan, U.N. troops fired guns and threw teargas to keep rioters from breaking in on Tuesday. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on authorities to stop what he called "orchestrated violence directed against the United Nations".
Protesters, most of whom apparently belong to the fiercely pro-Gbagbo Young Patriots, were also demonstrating on Wednesday outside the French army base in the south of the city.
The Ivory Coast is the world's top cocoa producer. Some of the cocoa companies instructed their staff to stay at home during the unrest. Abidjan's port was virtually closed too, "The port isn't closed but activity will be very slow, even more than yesterday because staff can't get to work. The roads are still blocked," said a manager at one logistics company.
The United Nations and other mediators have been trying to implement a peace plan, disarmament and new elections in the war torn country. However, Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front party said on Tuesday that it was pulling out of the peace process and called for the withdrawal of more than 7,000 U.N. troops and 4,000 French soldiers from the country.
This weeks protestse erupted after international recommendations on Sunday that the country's parliament, whose mandate expired last month, should not be reconvened. Gbagbo loyalists, said this was international meddling overstepping their authority and trying to override sovereign institutions.
The country has been shaken by two days of violent anti-U.N. protests in the southern half controlled by President Laurent Gbagbo's government. The north has been held by anti-government rebels since a 2003 civil war.
Hundreds of protesters attacked U.N. bases and vehicles to oppose a call by foreign mediators to end the mandate of the national parliament, which is dominated by Gbagbo loyalists. Protesters were stopping and searching cars and checking identity papers at roadblocks thrown across streets. Public transport has ground to a halt and debris from Tuesday's riots is scattered about the streets.
At U.N. mission headquarters in Abidjan, U.N. troops fired guns and threw teargas to keep rioters from breaking in on Tuesday. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on authorities to stop what he called "orchestrated violence directed against the United Nations".
Protesters, most of whom apparently belong to the fiercely pro-Gbagbo Young Patriots, were also demonstrating on Wednesday outside the French army base in the south of the city.
The Ivory Coast is the world's top cocoa producer. Some of the cocoa companies instructed their staff to stay at home during the unrest. Abidjan's port was virtually closed too, "The port isn't closed but activity will be very slow, even more than yesterday because staff can't get to work. The roads are still blocked," said a manager at one logistics company.
The United Nations and other mediators have been trying to implement a peace plan, disarmament and new elections in the war torn country. However, Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front party said on Tuesday that it was pulling out of the peace process and called for the withdrawal of more than 7,000 U.N. troops and 4,000 French soldiers from the country.
This weeks protestse erupted after international recommendations on Sunday that the country's parliament, whose mandate expired last month, should not be reconvened. Gbagbo loyalists, said this was international meddling overstepping their authority and trying to override sovereign institutions.
here we go again
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