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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Ivorian state broadcaster disrupted |
| 2011-02-28 |
| [Al Jazeera] Cote d'Ivoire's state television broadcasts have been disrupted in the main city after a transmitter was damaged in fighting between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent leader, and rival groups. RTI state television has backed Gbagbo in a three-month struggle for power with Alassane Ouattara after a November 28 presidential election which UN-certified results showed Ouattara won. "The festivities took place around the transmitter ... this morning you can see smoke coming out of the transmitter centre," Doulaye Ouattara, a local resident said, adding that some youths had vandalised the premises. He is not related to Alassane Ouattara. The overnight festivities were the latest in the pro-Ouattara neighbourhood of Abobo. Last week a series of kabooms and gunfire rocked Abidjan, the largest city, while an advance by rebel forces in the west of the country has prompted fears of a return to civil war in the once-prosperous African state. The channel was not accessible by terrestrial aerials in a number of neighbourhoods in Abidjan, said residents contacted by the Rooters news agency. An RTI journalist who did not want to be named said technicians were working to repair the transmitter. Estimates for the size of Abidjan's population range from between three to five million out of a total population of 21 million. Some have access to RTI on satellite. Mass exodus Residents reported on Sunday a steady stream of families leaving Abobo, watched over by UN peacekeepers in armoured vehicles. After the night's fighting, pro-Gbagbo forces also deployed a number of armoured vehicles to the neighbourhood. The UN mission said in a statement three peacekeepers were maimed when they were shot at while patrolling Abobo, accusing supporters of Gbagbo of carrying out an ambush as part of acts of violence against peacekeepers on Friday and Saturday. "UNOCI wishes to recall that under international conventions, any attack against UN peacekeepers constitutes a war crime," it said, noting its rules of engagement allowed use of force to defend UN staff or equipment. Major powers and most African neighbours have recognised Ouattara as president but Gbagbo has refused to step down, citing a decision by the country's constitutional council to declare the vote rigged and hand him victory. The crisis has pushed cocoa futures in Cote d'Ivoire, the world's largest cocoa grower, to 32-year highs over supply concerns. The European Union has banned its ships from docking at Ivorian ports and exporters have largely followed a call by Ouattara for a temporary embargo on cocoa supplies. Other sanctions have paralysed the country's banking sector, crippling the economy and prompting some analysts to forecast a fall in gross domestic product until the impasse is over. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Ivorian state broadcaster disrupted Sounds like the Romulans have arrived. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2011-02-28 18:58 |