New, grisly proof of massacres after Ivory Coast election

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New, grisly proof of massacres after Ivory Coast election

Published: Saturday, February 19, 2011, 12:00 PM

By The Associated Press

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- The entrance to the morgue is like a mouth through which comes an awful smell. It hits you as far back as the parking lot and makes your eyes water. From a dozen yards away, it's strong enough to make you throw up.

What lies inside is proof of mass killings in this once-tranquil country of 21 million people, where the sitting president is refusing to give way to his successor. Nearly every day since Laurent Gbagbo was declared the loser of the Nov. 28 election, the bodies of people who voted for his opponent have been showing up on the sides of highways.

Their distraught families have gone from police station to police station looking for them, but the bodies are hidden in plain sight in morgues turned into mass graves. Records obtained by The Associated Press from four of the city's nine morgues show that at least 113 bullet-ridden bodies have been brought in since the election. The number is likely much higher because the AP was refused access to the five other morgues, including one where the United Nations believes as many as 80 bodies were taken.

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http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/02/new_grisly_proof_of_massacres.html

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Re: New, grisly proof of massacres after Ivory Coast election

<CITE>Ivory Coast Violence Flares as African Leaders Seek Resolution

February 21, 2011, 10:29 AM EST</CITE>
<CITE></CITE>
<CITE>By Pauline Bax and Olivier Monnier</CITE>

Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Security forces in Ivory Coast?s commercial capital, Abidjan, fired on opposition protesters, killing one as African presidents arrived in the country in a new attempt to find a solution to the country?s political impasse.

Violence flared in the neighborhoods of Koumassi and Treichville where troops clashed with supporters of Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of a Nov. 28 election. Incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to resign, alleging electoral fraud, and has maintained the loyalty of police and armed forces. At least 300 people have been killed in clashes, according to the United Nations.

?The security forces are here and they have been shooting around, everybody is scared,? said Chantal Guehennot, a resident of the Treichville neighborhood in southern Abidjan, by phone today. She saw at least one body in the road after the gunfire and saw another person dragged from a house and beaten with rifle butts.

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http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-02-21/ivory-coast-violence-flares-as-african-leaders-seek-resolution.html

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Re: New, grisly proof of massacres after Ivory Coast election

COTE D'IVOIRE: Paul, ?People burn tyres with the bodies to defuse the smell?

DAKAR, 4 March 2011 (IRIN) - When people in parts of Abidjan, C?te d?Ivoire's commercial capital, see smoke these days, they don't know if just tyres are burning, or tyres and bodies, resident Paul* told IRIN.

Paul lives in Abobo, a district thousands of people have fled in recent days because of heavy fighting between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo and armed groups backing Alassane Ouattara.

?When we see smoke, we figure residents are probably taking care of some of the bodies. One day there was a body right in front of my door. We pulled it to an isolated area until it could be burned. The undertakers won?t come for bodies once they?ve started to decompose so people in the neighbourhood are incinerating corpses to get rid of the smell and especially the disease risk.

?People burn tyres with the bodies to defuse the smell a bit. This is done completely unceremoniously, of course. No time for talking or prayer. Everyone is gripped by fear; people just do the job as quickly as they can so they can get home.

?People are losing loved ones, never to see a trace of their bodies again - no one has time to go around identifying the bodies.

?I ask myself, when will the international community turn its attention to the catastrophe unfolding in this country?

?The entire world is watching closely the situation in Libya, in Tunisia, in Egypt. They mustn?t forget C?te d?Ivoire. We?ve got the same blood running through our veins.

?We don?t even know whom to turn to any more.

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http://www.irinnews.org/HovReport.aspx?reportID=92092

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Re: New, grisly proof of massacres after Ivory Coast election

UN warns deadly shelling of Ivorian market may be crime against humanity


Refugees who fled the post-election instability in C?te d'Ivoire wait to be registered at a camp in Liberia

18 March 2011 ? United Nations officials today intensified their condemnation of an attack yesterday by forces allied to C?te d?Ivoire?s defeated president on a market that killed 25 to 30 people and wounded dozens more, with the Organization?s human rights office warning that it could be a crime against humanity.

Such charges can bring the alleged perpetrator within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose prosecutor is already leading a preliminary examination into the deadly violence sparked by former president Laurent Gbagbo?s refusal to step down despite his UN-certified and internationally recognized defeat by opposition leader Alassane Ouattara in last November?s run-off elections.

?We utterly condemn yesterday's attack by rockets or other missiles on a civilian area in the Abobo suburb of the [commercial] capital Abidjan,? UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) spokesperson Rupert Colville told a news briefing in Geneva, referring to the neighbourhood that is a Ouattara stronghold.

?It is quite difficult to avoid the conclusion that this may be an international crime, possibly a crime against humanity. We are very concerned that the situation in C?te d?Ivoire appears to have deteriorated even further over the past week.?

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also voiced shock at the attack, in which six mortars were fired into the market, condemned the recent escalation of violence, and warned the Ivorian parties to bring the fighting and related human rights violations to an end without further delay.

?The Secretary-General urges the Security Council to take further measures with regard to the Ivorian individuals who are instigating, orchestrating and committing the violence,? a statement issued by his spokesperson said.

The UN peacekeeping operation in C?te d?Ivoire (UNOCI), which has blamed Gbagbo loyalists for much of the violence that has killed over 400 people since December and voiced outrage immediately after yesterday?s attack on the Ouattara stronghold of Abobo, has vowed that the perpetrators will not go unpunished.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos voiced grave concern today. ?The incident demonstrates a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law which prohibits attacks against civilians and civilian objects,? she said in a news release.

?It is an alarming development in the conduct of the current hostilities and underlines the dreadful humanitarian impact of explosive weapons when used in populated areas.?

She noted that violations appear to have been perpetrated by forces loyal to both sides, provoking a humanitarian crisis, both in Abidjan and throughout the country. Some 300,000 people have been displaced in Abidjan while 45,000 are displaced in the west of the country and over 75,000 others have fled across the border to Liberia.

Citing increasing restrictions on the ability of humanitarian organizations to reach those in need due to escalating violence and direct obstruction, Ms. Amos voiced particular concern over reports that civilians wishing to flee the violence in Abobo are prevented from doing so while others who are able to access assistance are intimidated into refusing it.

?I call on those involved in the violence to respect the civilian population and allow rapid, safe and unimpeded access by humanitarian organizations to those in need,? she concluded.

Meanwhile, the UN Children?s Fund (UNICEF) appealed today for $51 million to meet the rapidly growing humanitarian needs of children and families devastated by the post-election crisis. At least 60 per cent of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 85 per cent of the refugees in Liberia are women and children. ?Over the next three months, this critically needed funding will help UNICEF continue to provide life-saving emergency supplies and services to the increasing number of children affected by the crisis,? the agency said in a news release.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.as...&Cr=ivoire&Cr1=

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Re: New, grisly proof of massacres after Ivory Coast election

Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

March 18, 2011



<HR class=separator>
The United States condemns Laurent Gbagbo?s continued attacks on unarmed civilians in Cote d?Ivoire and we demand an immediate end to this brutality. Gbagbo?s indiscriminate violence against civilians cannot be tolerated. All individuals responsible for ordering or carrying out these heinous acts will have to answer for their actions.

Gbagbo?s claim that he represents the Ivoirian people belies his persistent refusal to participate in the peaceful transition recommended by the African Union. Gbagbo?s incendiary rhetoric, such as his recent call for civilians to take up arms against their fellow citizens, stands in stark contrast to President Ouattara?s appeal for calm and restraint among the Ivoirian people. Now is the time for all Ivoirians to embrace the path of peace and to unite in rebuilding Cote d?Ivoire so that future generations can enjoy the stability and prosperity that all Ivoirians deserve.

The United States is providing humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by the growing violence, including a $4.5 million food aid contribution to the United Nations World Food Program in Cote d?Ivoire and a $7.5 million contribution for refugees in neighboring Liberia. We will continue to assist those affected by this violence and help put an end to the crisis.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/03/158625.htm

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: New, grisly proof of massacres after Ivory Coast election

37% of Ivory Coast population is below the poverty line (Wikipedia).

They are a petroleum producing country:

- consume about half the oil they produce
- net exports (2009) - 32.86 thousand bbl/day
- exports to US (2009) - 3 thousand bbl/day
- they consume all the gas they produce

Their GDP per capital was US$726 in 1996. Most are dependent on cash crop production.

Principal exports are coffee, cocoa, and tropical woods.

sources: Wikipedia & http://www.eia.doe.gov/cfapps/countr...ta.cfm?fips=IV

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