Second Ivorian Civil War
Encyclopedia
The Second Ivorian Civil War broke out in March 2011 when the crisis
in Côte d'Ivoire
(Ivory Coast) escalated into full-scale military conflict between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo
, the President of Côte d'Ivoire since 2000, and supporters of the internationally recognised president-elect Alassane Ouattara
. After months of unsuccessful negotiations and sporadic violence between supporters of the two sides, the crisis entered a critical stage as Ouattara's forces seized control of most of the country, with Gbagbo entrenched in Abidjan
, the country's largest city. International organizations have reported numerous instances of human rights violations by both sides, in particular in the city of Duékoué
. The UN and French forces took military action, with the stated objective to protect their forces and civilians. Ouattara's forces arrested Gbagbo at his residence on 11 April.
(New Forces), representing Muslim northerners who felt that they were being discriminated against by the politically dominant and mostly Christian southerners.
In 2002 France
sent its troops to Côte d'Ivoire (Operation Unicorn) as peacekeepers. In February 2004 the United Nations
established the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire
(UNOCI) "to facilitate the implementation by the Ivorian parties of the peace agreement signed by them in January 2003". Most of the fighting ended by late 2004, with the country split between a rebel-held north and a government-held south. In March 2007 the two sides signed an agreement to hold fresh elections, though they ended up being delayed until 2010, five years after Gbagbo's term of office was supposed to have expired.
After northern candidate Alassane Ouattara was declared the victor of the 2010 Ivorian presidential election by the country's Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), the President of the Constitutional Council – an ally of Gbagbo – declared the results to be invalid and that Gbagbo was the winner. Both Gbagbo and Ouattara claimed victory and took the presidential oath of office
.
The international community, including the United Nations
, the African Union
, the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS), the European Union
, the United States
, and former colonial power France
have affirmed their support for Ouattara, who is "almost universally acknowledged to have defeated [Gbagbo] at the ballot box," and called for Gbagbo to step down. On 18 December, Gbagbo ordered all UN peacekeepers
to leave the country. The UN refused and the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN Mission in Côte d'Ivoire until 30 June 2011. However, negotiations to resolve the dispute failed to achieve any satisfactory outcome. Hundreds of people were killed in escalating violence between pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara partisans and at least a million people have fled, mostly from Abidjan.
The violence escalated through March 2011 with a number of incidents in Abidjan in which dozens of people were reported killed. In one of the deadliest single incidents, up to 30 people were killed on 17 March in a rocket attack on a pro-Ouattara suburb of Abidjan. The UN issued a statement saying that the shelling was "an act, perpetrated against civilians, [that] could constitute a crime against humanity." Between 21 March and 26 March, 52 people were killed in further violence in Abidjan.
Fighting also broke out in western Côte d'Ivoire at the end of February 2011. On 25 February, the New Forces captured the towns of Zouan Hounien and Binhouye near the border with Liberia
and took control of nearby Toulepleu
on 7 March. The town of Doké
fell on 12 March as the New Forces pushed on towards Bloléquin
, which they took on 21 March after heavy fighting.
On 28 March, the New Forces – now renamed the Republican Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (RFCI) – launched a full-scale offensive across the country. Ouattara issued a statement declaring: "All the peaceful routes to lead Laurent Gbagbo to admit his defeat have been exhausted." The towns of Duékoué
and Daloa
in the west of the country were captured by the RFCI, as were Bondoukau and Abengourou
near the border with Ghana
in the east. On 30 March, Côte d'Ivoire's political capital Yamoussoukro
and the western town of Soubré
were taken without resistance. The port city of San Pédro, the world's largest cocoa
exporting port, fell to the RFCI in the early hours of 31 March as did the nearby coastal town of Sassandra
. On the same day Côte d'Ivoire's borders with neighbouring countries were ordered to be sealed by Ouattara's forces.
On 30 March United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975
was issued which, in particular, urged all Ivorian parties to respect the will of the people and the election of Alassane Ouattara as President of Côte d'Ivoire, as recognised by ECOWAS, the African Union and the rest of the international community and reiterated that UNOCI could use "all necessary measures" in its mandate to protect civilians under imminent threat of attack.
The fighting was reported to have caused heavy damage in some contested towns, from which the inhabitants were said to have fled en masse. Large numbers of people were said to have found dead after Ouattara's forces took control of the central Ivorian towns; in Duékoué alone, over 800 people were reported to have been killed, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross
, though responsibility for the massacres was unclear. Ouattara's government stated that numerous mass graves had been found in "Toulepleu, Bloléquin and Guiglo, whose authors are none other than the loyal forces, mercenaries and militias of Laurent Gbagbo." However, the United Nations blamed the RFCI for many of the deaths.
The United Nations peacekeepers took control of Abidjan's airport when Gbagbo's forces abandoned it, and Gbagbo's elite forces were reported to be surrounding the presidential residence. United Nations and French forces were also reported to be carrying out protective security operations in the city. The UN peacekeeping mission said its headquarters were fired on by Gbabgo's special forces on 31 March, and returned fire in an exchange lasting about three hours. UN convoys have also come under attack by Gbagbo loyalists four times since 31 March, with three peacekeepers injured in one of the attacks. The peacekeepers had exchanged fire with Gbagbo loyalists in several parts of the city. Around 500 foreign nationals took refuge at the French base at Port-Bouët, near the airport.
Ouattara appealed to Gbagbo's men to lay down their arms, promising that Gbagbo himself would come to no harm, and issued a statement: "There is still time to join your brothers. The country is calling you." Many of them defected or gave up without a fight, including the army chief of staff General Phillippe Mangou, who took refuge in the South Africa
n ambassador's house, and the head of the military police, General Tiape Kassarate, who defected to Ouattara's side. Despite belligerent language from Gbagbo's side, most of his forces appear to have decided not to fight – a decision attributed by some commentators to "the historically unwarrior-like nature of the Ivorian army" and the effect of sanctions on Gbagbo's ability to pay his forces. Military sources said that an estimated 50,000 members of the gendarmerie and armed forces had deserted, with only some 2,000 Gbagbo loyalists remaining behind to fight.
The fighting in Abidjan has been concentrated in two areas in the suburb of Cocody
– around the state television building, which went off the air on the evening of 31 March, and around the residence of Laurent Gbagbo, where pro-Gbagbo Republican Guard members and armed students were said to be putting up strong resistance. Gunfire and shelling was also reported around the presidential palace in the central Plateau district of the city. Fighting also broke out in the Treichville district, where Gbagbo's Republican Guard was defending the city's main bridges, and around the gendarmerie base at Agban.
On 2 April heavy fighting was around the Agban military base and the presidential palace. State television station RTI appeared to be back under the control of Gbagbo supporters after being briefly taken off air. Many residents of Abidjan reported that supplies of food were becoming limited, with the violence making it dangerous to leave buildings to buy more.
Also on 2 April, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
told the BBC
that "[a]t this time, I strongly urge Mr Gbagbo to step down and transfer power to the legitimately elected president... Mr Ouattara."
On 4 April, non-military United Nations personnel began to be evacuated from Abidjan and hundreds of additional French troops landed in the Abidjan airport. UN and French helicopters also began firing on pro-Gbagbo military installations, a French military spokesman said the attacks were aimed at heavy artillery and armoured vehicles. Eyewitnesses reported seeing two UN Mi-24P
attack helicopters firing missiles at the Akouédo military camp in Abidjan. UN helicopters were flown by Ukrainian Ground Forces
crews seconded to the United Nations. The attacks sparked protests by a Gbagbo spokesperson, who said that such actions were "illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
defended the actions, however, saying that "the [UN] mission has taken this action in self-defence and to protect civilians." He noted that Gbagbo’s forces had fired on United Nations patrols and attacked the organization’s headquarters in Abidjan “with heavy-caliber sniper fire as well as mortars and rocket-propelled grenades,” wounding four peacekeepers.
On 4 April General Phillippe Mangou left the South African ambassador's residence in Abidjan and rejoined the government forces. On Ouattara's TV station, Serges Alla, a journalist claimed: "Mangou was forced to leave the South African embassy because some of his relatives were made hostage by diehard supporters of Gbagbo, and Gbagbo militiamen were putting pressure on him, saying they would bomb his village if he doesn't show himself or doesn't return to the Gbagbo army."
Early on 5 April 2011, Ouattara forces announced that they had captured the presidential palace. The same day General Philippe Mangou
, the military chief of Laurent Gbagbo, has called for a ceasefire.
Following calls for ceasefire by Gbagbo's military officials, it was reported that fighting has ceased in Abidjan. Special UN representative Choi Young-jin
stated that all Gbagbo's top generals had defected and that "the war is over". Gbagbo had been negotiating a surrender; French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe
said that they were close of convincing Gbagbo to leave power. The ECOWAS bloc promised a "safe and dignified exit" for Gbagbo and his family if he conceded the election, handing power over to Ouattara. However, forces loyal to Ouattara moved to seize Gbagbo at his residence in Abidjan on 6 April 2011, after the negotiations failed.
French forces were said to have destroyed several military vehicles belonging to troops loyal to Laurent Gbagbo during a helicopter-borne mission that rescued Japan
's ambassador
, Yoshifumi Okamura, during heavy fighting in Abidjan
during the morning of 7 April.
On 8 April pro-Ouattara forces continued to besiege Gbagbo in his residence. Ouattara said a blockade had been set up around the perimeter to make the district safe for residents. He said his forces would wait for Gbagbo to run out of food and water. However, Paris
-based adviser Toussaint Alain to Gbagbo said that Gbagbo would not surrender. Also on this day, Gbagbo forces using heavy weaponry such as rockets, grenade launchers and tanks were reported to have resumed fighting in Abidjan, taking control of the Plateau and Cocody
areas of the city.
On 9 April, pro-Gbagbo forces were reported to have fired on the Golf Hotel, where Ouattara was located. The attackers reportedly used both sniper rifles and mortars; in response, UN peacekeepers fired on them. Gbagbo's forces were reported to have pushed Ouattara's forces back, retaking control of the Plateau and Cocody districts of Abidjan.
The following day, United Nations and French forces carried out further air strikes against Gbagbo's remaining heavy weapons, using Mi-24 and Aérospatiale Gazelle
attack helicopters. The attack was reported to have caused heavy damage to the presidential palace.
, which was largely controlled by forces fighting to install the internationally recognized president according to the Catholic charity Caritas
. The U.N. mission in Ivory Coast said it has a team investigating the alleged mass killings in the west of the town. The U.N. said forces of both Ouattara and Gbagbo were involved in the killings. On the 4th Caritas repeated its claims that 800 to 1,000 had been killed in the Duekoue
massacre. The nation's general descent into violence had frightened both the foreigners and Caritas aid workers.
According to Guillaume N'Gefa, spokesman for the UN mission in Côte d'Ivoire, 330 people had been killed in Duékoué
as Ouattara's forces took over the town, More than 100 of them were killed by Gbagbo's troops. However, N'Gefa said the majority were executed by dozos, traditional hunters who support Ouattara.
N'Gefa said a UN team was still investigating and those figures were likely to rise. Earlier the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) said at least 800 died, while Roman Catholic charity Caritas
put the figure at more than 1,000. ICRC staff who visited Duekoue said the scale and brutality of the killings were shocking. Tens of thousands had fled Duékoué since 28 March.
On 7 April Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said its team had found 15 new bodies, bringing the total number of known dead in a 28–29 March incident to 244. Victims mostly or all of Guere ethnicity, traditional Gbagbo supporters. Some seem to have been burnt alive and some corpses were thrown down a well.
In addition to the issue of the presidency, the root cause of the massacre was believed to be over cocoa land and farming rights. The Guere are the traditional land-owners of the region; but migrant workers perform much of the manual labor on cocoa plantations. The two have a historic dispute over the rights to the farmland.
, where perpetrators were said to have been Liberia
n militias, who spared the Guere after separating them out from other groups. In Guiglo
60 bodies were found, including a number of West Africans.
. At Old Pohan, a Liberian settlement next to the thickets that extend to the border, refugees greatly outnumbered the local population, and more were arriving all the time. President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said in an interview that “it’s a serious threat to the stability of Liberia and, I might say, to the stability of all neighboring countries”. Seeking to move the Ivorians away from border settlements, the United Nations has opened a camp about 25 miles inside Liberia. Refugees are also starting to cross in significant numbers into Ghana
.
According to UK shadow international development minister Mark Lazarowicz
, the UN aid programmes for Ivory Cost and Liberia are "grossly underfunded".
In addition to refugees in Liberia, a significant number of displaced Ivorians stayed in camps throughout western Ivory Coast. The largest was in the Catholic Mission in Duékoué, where at one point church officials estimated 28,000 displaced were staying each night.
citizens) entered the French peacekeepers’ camp in Abidjan Airport. The Lebanese president, U.N. officials and French commanders provided assistance to facilitate the departure of the Lebanese, French and African nationals who wish to leave the Ivory Coast. The French army formally took over the running of Abidjan airport on the 4th in order to evacuate foreign citizens living in the Ivory Coast. Evacuations took place on the 5th and 6th.
2010–2011 Ivorian crisis
The 2010–11 Ivorian crisis was a political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire which began after Laurent Gbagbo, the President of Côte d'Ivoire since 2000, was proclaimed the winner of the Ivorian election of 2010, the first election in the country in 10 years...
in Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
(Ivory Coast) escalated into full-scale military conflict between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo
Laurent Gbagbo
Laurent Koudou Gbagbo served as the fourth President of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. A historian by profession, he is also an amateur chemist and physicist....
, the President of Côte d'Ivoire since 2000, and supporters of the internationally recognised president-elect Alassane Ouattara
Alassane Ouattara
Alassane Dramane Ouattara is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Côte d'Ivoire since 2011. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund and the Central Bank of West African States , and he was the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from November 1990 to...
. After months of unsuccessful negotiations and sporadic violence between supporters of the two sides, the crisis entered a critical stage as Ouattara's forces seized control of most of the country, with Gbagbo entrenched in Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
, the country's largest city. International organizations have reported numerous instances of human rights violations by both sides, in particular in the city of Duékoué
Duékoué
Duékoué is a town in Duékoué Department of Moyen-Cavally Region, Côte d'Ivoire.-History:At least 800 people were killed in Duékoué on March 29, 2011 during the fierce fighting as part of the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis....
. The UN and French forces took military action, with the stated objective to protect their forces and civilians. Ouattara's forces arrested Gbagbo at his residence on 11 April.
Background
A civil war was fought in Côte d'Ivoire between 2002-04 between the incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo and the rebel Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'IvoireForces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire
The Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire is a political coalition that was formed in December 2002, in the wake of the first peace accords of the Ivorian Civil War.-Composition:FNCI includes these political parties:...
(New Forces), representing Muslim northerners who felt that they were being discriminated against by the politically dominant and mostly Christian southerners.
In 2002 France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
sent its troops to Côte d'Ivoire (Operation Unicorn) as peacekeepers. In February 2004 the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
established the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire
United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire
The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire is a peacekeeping mission whose objective is "to facilitate the implementation by the Ivorian parties of the peace agreement signed by them in January 2003"...
(UNOCI) "to facilitate the implementation by the Ivorian parties of the peace agreement signed by them in January 2003". Most of the fighting ended by late 2004, with the country split between a rebel-held north and a government-held south. In March 2007 the two sides signed an agreement to hold fresh elections, though they ended up being delayed until 2010, five years after Gbagbo's term of office was supposed to have expired.
After northern candidate Alassane Ouattara was declared the victor of the 2010 Ivorian presidential election by the country's Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), the President of the Constitutional Council – an ally of Gbagbo – declared the results to be invalid and that Gbagbo was the winner. Both Gbagbo and Ouattara claimed victory and took the presidential oath of office
Oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations...
.
The international community, including the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, the African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
, the Economic Community of West African States
Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region....
(ECOWAS), the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and former colonial power France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
have affirmed their support for Ouattara, who is "almost universally acknowledged to have defeated [Gbagbo] at the ballot box," and called for Gbagbo to step down. On 18 December, Gbagbo ordered all UN peacekeepers
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
to leave the country. The UN refused and the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN Mission in Côte d'Ivoire until 30 June 2011. However, negotiations to resolve the dispute failed to achieve any satisfactory outcome. Hundreds of people were killed in escalating violence between pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara partisans and at least a million people have fled, mostly from Abidjan.
Conflict
After the disputed election, sporadic outbreaks of violence took place, particularly in Abidjan, where supporters of Ouattara clashed repeatedly with government forces and militias. Gbagbo's forces were said to be responsible for a campaign of assassinations, beatings and abductions directed against Ouattara's supporters.The violence escalated through March 2011 with a number of incidents in Abidjan in which dozens of people were reported killed. In one of the deadliest single incidents, up to 30 people were killed on 17 March in a rocket attack on a pro-Ouattara suburb of Abidjan. The UN issued a statement saying that the shelling was "an act, perpetrated against civilians, [that] could constitute a crime against humanity." Between 21 March and 26 March, 52 people were killed in further violence in Abidjan.
Fighting also broke out in western Côte d'Ivoire at the end of February 2011. On 25 February, the New Forces captured the towns of Zouan Hounien and Binhouye near the border with Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
and took control of nearby Toulepleu
Toulépleu
Toulépleu is one of the departments of Côte d'Ivoire. It is located in Moyen-Cavally Region....
on 7 March. The town of Doké
Doké
-References:*This article was initially created from the French Wikipedia....
fell on 12 March as the New Forces pushed on towards Bloléquin
Bloléquin
-References:*This article was initially created from French Wikipedia...
, which they took on 21 March after heavy fighting.
On 28 March, the New Forces – now renamed the Republican Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (RFCI) – launched a full-scale offensive across the country. Ouattara issued a statement declaring: "All the peaceful routes to lead Laurent Gbagbo to admit his defeat have been exhausted." The towns of Duékoué
Duékoué
Duékoué is a town in Duékoué Department of Moyen-Cavally Region, Côte d'Ivoire.-History:At least 800 people were killed in Duékoué on March 29, 2011 during the fierce fighting as part of the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis....
and Daloa
Daloa
Daloa is a town in Daloa Department of Côte d'Ivoire, lying west of Yamoussoukro in Haut-Sassandra Region. It has a population of over 100,000. The town is a regional capital and an important trading centre, particularly for cocoa...
in the west of the country were captured by the RFCI, as were Bondoukau and Abengourou
Abengourou
Abengourou is a city in Abengourou Department of Côte d'Ivoire. Abengourou is primarily populated by the Anyi ethnic group, a branch of the Akan people who migrated to the region from Ghana. The population of Abengourou was estimated to be 105,000 people in 2004...
near the border with Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
in the east. On 30 March, Côte d'Ivoire's political capital Yamoussoukro
Yamoussoukro
The District of Yamoussoukro is the official political capital and administrative capital city of Côte d'Ivoire, while the economic capital of the country is Abidjan. As of 2010, it was estimated to have 242,744 inhabitants...
and the western town of Soubré
Soubré
Soubré is a department of Côte d'Ivoire. It is one of four departments of Bas-Sassandra Region.Produce one of the best quality of cocoa and coffee all the year....
were taken without resistance. The port city of San Pédro, the world's largest cocoa
Cocoa
Cocoa bean is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of Theobroma cacao, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter are extracted...
exporting port, fell to the RFCI in the early hours of 31 March as did the nearby coastal town of Sassandra
Sassandra
Sassandra is the chief town in Sassandra Department of Côte d'Ivoire. The department is located in Bas-Sassandra Region. The town of Sassandra lies on the Gulf of Guinea at the mouth of the Sassandra River. The town was founded by the Portuguese as Santo André and was later run by the British,...
. On the same day Côte d'Ivoire's borders with neighbouring countries were ordered to be sealed by Ouattara's forces.
On 30 March United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975, adopted unanimously on March 30, 2011, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire , including resolutions 1572 , 1893 , 1911 , 1924 , 1933 , 1942 , 1946 , 1951 , 1962 , 1967 and 1968 , the Council demanded that Laurent...
was issued which, in particular, urged all Ivorian parties to respect the will of the people and the election of Alassane Ouattara as President of Côte d'Ivoire, as recognised by ECOWAS, the African Union and the rest of the international community and reiterated that UNOCI could use "all necessary measures" in its mandate to protect civilians under imminent threat of attack.
The fighting was reported to have caused heavy damage in some contested towns, from which the inhabitants were said to have fled en masse. Large numbers of people were said to have found dead after Ouattara's forces took control of the central Ivorian towns; in Duékoué alone, over 800 people were reported to have been killed, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
, though responsibility for the massacres was unclear. Ouattara's government stated that numerous mass graves had been found in "Toulepleu, Bloléquin and Guiglo, whose authors are none other than the loyal forces, mercenaries and militias of Laurent Gbagbo." However, the United Nations blamed the RFCI for many of the deaths.
Battle of Abidjan
In Abidjan, heavy fighting broke out on 31 March as pro-Ouattara forces advanced on the city from several directions. Residents reported seeing the RFCI forces entering the city in "a convoy of 2,000-3,000 people on foot and then dozens of cars without their headlights on." Ouattara declared a three-day curfew in Abidjan from 2100 GMT to 0600 GMT.The United Nations peacekeepers took control of Abidjan's airport when Gbagbo's forces abandoned it, and Gbagbo's elite forces were reported to be surrounding the presidential residence. United Nations and French forces were also reported to be carrying out protective security operations in the city. The UN peacekeeping mission said its headquarters were fired on by Gbabgo's special forces on 31 March, and returned fire in an exchange lasting about three hours. UN convoys have also come under attack by Gbagbo loyalists four times since 31 March, with three peacekeepers injured in one of the attacks. The peacekeepers had exchanged fire with Gbagbo loyalists in several parts of the city. Around 500 foreign nationals took refuge at the French base at Port-Bouët, near the airport.
Ouattara appealed to Gbagbo's men to lay down their arms, promising that Gbagbo himself would come to no harm, and issued a statement: "There is still time to join your brothers. The country is calling you." Many of them defected or gave up without a fight, including the army chief of staff General Phillippe Mangou, who took refuge in the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n ambassador's house, and the head of the military police, General Tiape Kassarate, who defected to Ouattara's side. Despite belligerent language from Gbagbo's side, most of his forces appear to have decided not to fight – a decision attributed by some commentators to "the historically unwarrior-like nature of the Ivorian army" and the effect of sanctions on Gbagbo's ability to pay his forces. Military sources said that an estimated 50,000 members of the gendarmerie and armed forces had deserted, with only some 2,000 Gbagbo loyalists remaining behind to fight.
The fighting in Abidjan has been concentrated in two areas in the suburb of Cocody
Cocody
Cocody, is an upmarket suburb of Abidjan, marked by its abundance of mansions. Cocody is where most of the wealthy business people, ambassadors, and other affluent people live...
– around the state television building, which went off the air on the evening of 31 March, and around the residence of Laurent Gbagbo, where pro-Gbagbo Republican Guard members and armed students were said to be putting up strong resistance. Gunfire and shelling was also reported around the presidential palace in the central Plateau district of the city. Fighting also broke out in the Treichville district, where Gbagbo's Republican Guard was defending the city's main bridges, and around the gendarmerie base at Agban.
On 2 April heavy fighting was around the Agban military base and the presidential palace. State television station RTI appeared to be back under the control of Gbagbo supporters after being briefly taken off air. Many residents of Abidjan reported that supplies of food were becoming limited, with the violence making it dangerous to leave buildings to buy more.
Also on 2 April, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
told the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
that "[a]t this time, I strongly urge Mr Gbagbo to step down and transfer power to the legitimately elected president... Mr Ouattara."
On 4 April, non-military United Nations personnel began to be evacuated from Abidjan and hundreds of additional French troops landed in the Abidjan airport. UN and French helicopters also began firing on pro-Gbagbo military installations, a French military spokesman said the attacks were aimed at heavy artillery and armoured vehicles. Eyewitnesses reported seeing two UN Mi-24P
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for 8 passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and by over thirty other nations.In NATO circles the export...
attack helicopters firing missiles at the Akouédo military camp in Abidjan. UN helicopters were flown by Ukrainian Ground Forces
Ukrainian Ground Forces
The Ukrainian Ground Forces are the land force component of the Military of Ukraine. They were formed from Soviet Army formations, units, and establishments, including three military districts , that were on Ukrainian soil when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990-92.Between the fall of the USSR and...
crews seconded to the United Nations. The attacks sparked protests by a Gbagbo spokesperson, who said that such actions were "illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
defended the actions, however, saying that "the [UN] mission has taken this action in self-defence and to protect civilians." He noted that Gbagbo’s forces had fired on United Nations patrols and attacked the organization’s headquarters in Abidjan “with heavy-caliber sniper fire as well as mortars and rocket-propelled grenades,” wounding four peacekeepers.
On 4 April General Phillippe Mangou left the South African ambassador's residence in Abidjan and rejoined the government forces. On Ouattara's TV station, Serges Alla, a journalist claimed: "Mangou was forced to leave the South African embassy because some of his relatives were made hostage by diehard supporters of Gbagbo, and Gbagbo militiamen were putting pressure on him, saying they would bomb his village if he doesn't show himself or doesn't return to the Gbagbo army."
Early on 5 April 2011, Ouattara forces announced that they had captured the presidential palace. The same day General Philippe Mangou
Philippe Mangou
Philippe Mangou was the head of the armed forces of Cote D'Ivoire from 2004 until 2011.-Biography:He studied law at the University of Cocody-Abidjan...
, the military chief of Laurent Gbagbo, has called for a ceasefire.
Following calls for ceasefire by Gbagbo's military officials, it was reported that fighting has ceased in Abidjan. Special UN representative Choi Young-jin
Choi Young-jin
Choi Young-jin currently serves as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d’Ivoire...
stated that all Gbagbo's top generals had defected and that "the war is over". Gbagbo had been negotiating a surrender; French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe
Alain Juppé
Alain Marie Juppé is a French politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also served as Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac and the Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs from 2010 to 2011...
said that they were close of convincing Gbagbo to leave power. The ECOWAS bloc promised a "safe and dignified exit" for Gbagbo and his family if he conceded the election, handing power over to Ouattara. However, forces loyal to Ouattara moved to seize Gbagbo at his residence in Abidjan on 6 April 2011, after the negotiations failed.
French forces were said to have destroyed several military vehicles belonging to troops loyal to Laurent Gbagbo during a helicopter-borne mission that rescued Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
, Yoshifumi Okamura, during heavy fighting in Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
during the morning of 7 April.
On 8 April pro-Ouattara forces continued to besiege Gbagbo in his residence. Ouattara said a blockade had been set up around the perimeter to make the district safe for residents. He said his forces would wait for Gbagbo to run out of food and water. However, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
-based adviser Toussaint Alain to Gbagbo said that Gbagbo would not surrender. Also on this day, Gbagbo forces using heavy weaponry such as rockets, grenade launchers and tanks were reported to have resumed fighting in Abidjan, taking control of the Plateau and Cocody
Cocody
Cocody, is an upmarket suburb of Abidjan, marked by its abundance of mansions. Cocody is where most of the wealthy business people, ambassadors, and other affluent people live...
areas of the city.
On 9 April, pro-Gbagbo forces were reported to have fired on the Golf Hotel, where Ouattara was located. The attackers reportedly used both sniper rifles and mortars; in response, UN peacekeepers fired on them. Gbagbo's forces were reported to have pushed Ouattara's forces back, retaking control of the Plateau and Cocody districts of Abidjan.
The following day, United Nations and French forces carried out further air strikes against Gbagbo's remaining heavy weapons, using Mi-24 and Aérospatiale Gazelle
Aérospatiale Gazelle
The Aérospatiale Gazelle is a five-seat light helicopter, powered by a single turbine engine. It was designed and manufactured in France by Sud Aviation . It was also manufactured under licence by Westland Aircraft in the United Kingdom , by SOKO in Yugoslavia and ABHCO in Egypt...
attack helicopters. The attack was reported to have caused heavy damage to the presidential palace.
Arrest of Gbagbo
On 11 April, Ouattara's forces stormed Gbagbo's residence and arrested him. The final assault was assisted by French forces using helicopters and armoured vehicles, although the actual capture was made by Ouattara's troops. Gbagbo, his wife, son and about 50 members of his entourage were captured unharmed and were taken to the Golf Hotel, Ouattara's headquarters, where they were placed under United Nations guard.Duékoué massacre
Unknown attackers wielding machetes and various guns were reported to have killed over 1,000 civilians in a neighbourhood of the town of DuékouéDuékoué
Duékoué is a town in Duékoué Department of Moyen-Cavally Region, Côte d'Ivoire.-History:At least 800 people were killed in Duékoué on March 29, 2011 during the fierce fighting as part of the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis....
, which was largely controlled by forces fighting to install the internationally recognized president according to the Catholic charity Caritas
Caritas (charity)
Caritas Internationalis is a confederate of 164 Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide....
. The U.N. mission in Ivory Coast said it has a team investigating the alleged mass killings in the west of the town. The U.N. said forces of both Ouattara and Gbagbo were involved in the killings. On the 4th Caritas repeated its claims that 800 to 1,000 had been killed in the Duekoue
Duékoué
Duékoué is a town in Duékoué Department of Moyen-Cavally Region, Côte d'Ivoire.-History:At least 800 people were killed in Duékoué on March 29, 2011 during the fierce fighting as part of the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis....
massacre. The nation's general descent into violence had frightened both the foreigners and Caritas aid workers.
According to Guillaume N'Gefa, spokesman for the UN mission in Côte d'Ivoire, 330 people had been killed in Duékoué
Duékoué
Duékoué is a town in Duékoué Department of Moyen-Cavally Region, Côte d'Ivoire.-History:At least 800 people were killed in Duékoué on March 29, 2011 during the fierce fighting as part of the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis....
as Ouattara's forces took over the town, More than 100 of them were killed by Gbagbo's troops. However, N'Gefa said the majority were executed by dozos, traditional hunters who support Ouattara.
N'Gefa said a UN team was still investigating and those figures were likely to rise. Earlier the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
(ICRC) said at least 800 died, while Roman Catholic charity Caritas
Caritas (charity)
Caritas Internationalis is a confederate of 164 Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide....
put the figure at more than 1,000. ICRC staff who visited Duekoue said the scale and brutality of the killings were shocking. Tens of thousands had fled Duékoué since 28 March.
On 7 April Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said its team had found 15 new bodies, bringing the total number of known dead in a 28–29 March incident to 244. Victims mostly or all of Guere ethnicity, traditional Gbagbo supporters. Some seem to have been burnt alive and some corpses were thrown down a well.
In addition to the issue of the presidency, the root cause of the massacre was believed to be over cocoa land and farming rights. The Guere are the traditional land-owners of the region; but migrant workers perform much of the manual labor on cocoa plantations. The two have a historic dispute over the rights to the farmland.
Blolequin and Guiglo massacres
On 7 April Rupert Colville said that 40 bodies were found in BlolequinBloléquin
-References:*This article was initially created from French Wikipedia...
, where perpetrators were said to have been Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
n militias, who spared the Guere after separating them out from other groups. In Guiglo
Guiglo
Guiglo is a town in Guiglo Department of Moyen-Cavally Region in western Côte d'Ivoire. Guiglo Town is located on the Nzo River, a tributary of the Sassandra River...
60 bodies were found, including a number of West Africans.
International reaction
- On March 8, Leymah GboweeLeymah GboweeLeymah Roberta Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist responsible for leading a women's peace movement that brought an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. This led to the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia, the first African nation with a female president...
issued a statement of support for the peaceful protests of the Christian and Muslim women in the Ivory Coast and compared them to the women of LiberiaWomen of Liberia Mass Action for PeaceWomen of Liberia Mass Action for Peace is a peace movement started by women in Liberia, Africa thatbrought an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. Organized by social worker Leymah Gbowee, the movement started with local women praying and singing in a fish market...
.
- Nigerian Foreign Minister Henry Odein AjumogobiaHenry Odein AjumogobiaHenry Odein Ajumogobia was appointed Nigerian minister of Foreign Affairs on 6 April 2010, when Acting President Goodluck Jonathan announced his new cabinet....
accused the international communityInternational communityThe international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...
of "contradictions" by imposing a no-fly zone over Libya and focusing on the 2011 Libyan civil war2011 Libyan civil warThe 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
, but failing to to take action to protect civilians in the Ivory Coast.
- On March 23, at the ECOWAS Summit, Goodluck JonathanGoodluck JonathanGoodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, BNER, GCON is the 14th Head of State and current President of Nigeria.He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the...
, President of NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
urged the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to pass a resolution to take decisive action, saying instability posed a threat to security in West AfricaWest AfricaWest Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
.
- On March 23, the "One Thousand Women March" was organized by peace activists in West Africa. They wore white t-shirts and represented countries across West Africa including Côte d'Ivoire, GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, LiberiaLiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, Nigeria, Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
and TogoTogoTogo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
. They issued a press release and presented a position statement to the ECOWAS Heads of State. - On March 30, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975, adopted unanimously on March 30, 2011, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire , including resolutions 1572 , 1893 , 1911 , 1924 , 1933 , 1942 , 1946 , 1951 , 1962 , 1967 and 1968 , the Council demanded that Laurent...
was adopted unanimously, demanding that Laurent Gbagbo step down as President and allow internationally-recognised President Alassane Ouattara to take power. The resolution imposed sanctions on Gbagbo and his close associates. The resolution was sponsored by FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. - Ivory Coast received more attention and obtained more consensus by the United Nations Security Council than any other country in the past two years.
Criticism
- RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia intends to look into the legitimacy of the use of force by UN peacekeepers. The position of the Russian government was that any foreign interference would only lead to increasing violence.
- Oil production in Libya is seen as a more strategic commodity than cocoa in the Ivory Coast, which influenced the international response to the turmoil facing both countries.
Refugees
According to the United Nations, due to the continuing violence more than 100,000 people have fled the country to neighbouring LiberiaLiberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. At Old Pohan, a Liberian settlement next to the thickets that extend to the border, refugees greatly outnumbered the local population, and more were arriving all the time. President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said in an interview that “it’s a serious threat to the stability of Liberia and, I might say, to the stability of all neighboring countries”. Seeking to move the Ivorians away from border settlements, the United Nations has opened a camp about 25 miles inside Liberia. Refugees are also starting to cross in significant numbers into Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
.
According to UK shadow international development minister Mark Lazarowicz
Mark Lazarowicz
Mark Lazarowicz, is a British Labour Co-operative politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh North and Leith since 2001...
, the UN aid programmes for Ivory Cost and Liberia are "grossly underfunded".
In addition to refugees in Liberia, a significant number of displaced Ivorians stayed in camps throughout western Ivory Coast. The largest was in the Catholic Mission in Duékoué, where at one point church officials estimated 28,000 displaced were staying each night.
Mercenaries
General Gueu Michel, the commander of Ouattara's forces in western Ivory Coast, said that Liberian mercenaries were fighting on the side of Laurent Gbagbo. Liberian and United Nations officials said the general was correct to suspect Liberian mercenaries of crossing into Ivory Coast to help Gbagbo stay in power. Harrison S. Karnwea Sr., Liberia’s interior minister said, however, that both sides were recruiting Liberian mercenaries.Impact on foreign nationals
By 2 April, 1,400 French and other foreign nationals (900 of whom were LebaneseLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
citizens) entered the French peacekeepers’ camp in Abidjan Airport. The Lebanese president, U.N. officials and French commanders provided assistance to facilitate the departure of the Lebanese, French and African nationals who wish to leave the Ivory Coast. The French army formally took over the running of Abidjan airport on the 4th in order to evacuate foreign citizens living in the Ivory Coast. Evacuations took place on the 5th and 6th.