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| Africa Subsaharan | |
| Thousands flee Ivory Coast for Liberia | |
| 2010-12-26 | |
About 14,000 people have fled Ivory Coast to neighbouring Liberia following last month's disputed Ivorian presidential election, the UN says.
Most of those fleeing are supporters of Alassane Ouattara, who is recognised internationally as the new president. The spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, told the BBC that most of those who had left Ivory Coast since the 28 November election had come from villages in the west of the country. She said they had been walking for days to escape tensions they feared could explode into violence, and the flow was continuing. A UNHCR statement added: "With their numbers growing, the humanitarian needs are increasing for the mostly women and children refugees as well as for the villagers hosting them." Earlier Mr Ouattara urged the armed forces to protect civilians against attack from "the militias and foreign mercenaries that are spilling Ivorian blood". He said perpetrators of recent violence would be prosecuted and invited investigators from the International Criminal Court to the country. UN officials say at least 170 people have been killed in recent attacks linked to the Ivorian armed forces, who remain publicly loyal to Mr Gbagbo. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 See also HURRIYET DAILY NEWS > GBAGBO WARNS IVORY COAST INTERVENTION {Regional West African States = AU?] COULD PROVOKE WAR. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-12-26 20:40 |
| #1 Jesus, things must have gotten truly rotten in the Ivory Coast for Liberia to look good - this is like fleeing somewhere and going to Haiti. And the Ivory Coast used to be the stable economically viable state in Africa. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2010-12-26 16:58 |