UN peacekeepers in Ivory Coast will be reinforced by 2,000 soldiers and have received two combat helicopters to face worsening violence between rival political factions, a UN official said.
The 8,000-strong UN force is trying to keep a stand-off between the two presidential claimants, incumbent Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo and his rival, Alassane Ouattara, from tipping into a civil war, as clashes between factions loyal to each side grow increasingly violent.
Gbagbo’s defense minister Alain Dogou repeated calls at a press conference for all UN troops to leave and said it would not cooperate with them, accusing them of arming rebels.
“They have become a party in Ivory Coast’s conflict,” he said.
About 800 peacekeepers are stationed around a hotel in Abidjan where Ouattara, widely recognized as the winner of an election last year, has been holed up for three months hoping that economic sanctions would weaken Gbagbo’s grip on power.
“What we are seeing is clearly an escalation of violence,” Choi Young-jin, a UN representative in Abidjan, told the Liberation newspaper in an interview published on Saturday. “Since Feb. 19, incidents have gotten more serious.”
On Thursday, Ivorian security forces loyal to Gbagbo shot dead seven women protesters and the UN said at least 365 people had been killed in violence in the wake of a disputed general election on Nov. 28 last year.
Video footage of the all-women protest in the northern Abidjan suburb of Abobo, broadcast on i>TELE news channel, shows women screaming after gunshots are heard and at least two bloodied bodies on the road. An armored vehicle marked “police” is visible driving toward them in the background.
Choi said he was sending frequent patrols through the Abobo suburb.
“We need to do everything we can to stop someone who wants to massacre civilians from making it happen,” he said.
As the conflict grows more entrenched, Choi said he had not yet called on a French military unit stationed nearby.
However, he did need to beef up his force.
“We are waiting on reinforcements of 2,000 blue helmets and two of the three armed helicopters that we ordered have arrived,” he said.
Staying in control of the skies above Abidjan through air power was crucial to ensuring that the fragile situation did not degenerate into bloodshed, he added.
When asked if he thought a political outcome to the crisis was possible, Choi was pessimistic.
“Since the beginning we’ve noted deep differences between the two parties. It will be very difficult to find common ground between the rivals,” the UN envoy said.
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