Cote D’Ivoire: UN Protects 10,000 civilians in a church

Cote D’Ivoire: UN Protects 10,000 civilians in a church

About 1,000 UN peacekeepers have successfully protected more than 10,000 civilians sheltering in a Catholic mission in Duekoue, Cote D’Ivoire, as lawlessness in the country escalates.

Un statement said, the cillivians are adequately being provided with food and shelter.

The UN statement came as forces loyal to Ouattara, the internationally-recognised winner of the country's presidential elections in November, seized the towns of Daloa, Bondoukou and Belleville.

On Monday, pro-Ouattara forces took control of the town of Duekoue.

A source in the pro-Gbagbo military said that Daloa and Duekoue had fallen, but fighting continued in parts of Duekoue.

Strategic

The capture of Daloa and Duekoue, potentially open up a route to the major exporting port of San Pedro and the area the supporters of Outaeea now control produces about 600,000 tonnes of cocoa a year, half of Cote d'Ivoire's output.

Meanwhile, the UN peacekeeping mission in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) has released a statement saying forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, the country's incumbent leader, opened fire on civilians in Abidjan, killing about a dozen people.

The organisation said that in another incident, a group of pro-Gbagbo youths put a tyre around a young man and burnt him alive in the Riviera area of the city, and that another group "savagely attacked" two UN staff.

"With the increase in human rights violations and barbaric practices, there are grounds for wondering whether President Gbagbo is still in charge of his forces and supporters," reports say.

"UNOCI believes it is imperative to end this spiral of violence by finding a definitive solution to the political impasse which stemmed from the post-electoral crisis."

Gbagbo's camp was not immediately available to comment on the UN statement.

Impact Of Conflict

Cocoa futures were lower on Tuesday, down 3.3 per cent in London in afternoon trading, as the market closely watched conflict, which has pushed them to 30-year highs in past months.

The pro-Ouattara forces, which Ouattara has recognised as his military and renamed the Cote d'Ivoire Republican Forces (FRCI), have controlled northern Ivory Coast since the civil war of 2002-2003. 

The disputed presidential election, which Gbagbo refuses to concede, has rekindled the civil war it was meant to finally end.

Heavy fighting has rocked Abidjan and across much of a north-south ceasefire line.     

Up to one million Ivorians have now fled fighting in the main city of Abidjan alone, according to the UN refugee agency.

Others have been uprooted across the country and at least 112,000 have crossed into Liberia to the west.     

Human rights groups say crimes against humanity may have already been committed.     

The world body is also investigating allegations that 200 African nationals, from Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Guinea and Togo, were killed near Guiglo, southwest of Duekoue.

Al Jazeera/Margaret/Qasim