Ban warns of civil war in Cote d'Ivoire
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday assailed post-election actions in Cote d'Ivoire by supporters of Laurent Gbagbo against the UN Operation in the Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI), and the Ivorian civilian population.
"The situation in Cote d'Ivoire has grown increasingly volatile, " Ban said at an informal meeting of the UN General Assembly. " There is a real risk of a return to civil war."
The current violence and unrest stem from the results of the Nov. 28 run-off presidential election in the West African country. Though Alassane Ouattara was declared the winner of the election by the Cote d'Ivoire's Electoral Commission, as well as the UN and regional organizations, his opponent Laurent Gbagbo has persisted in claiming the presidency for himself.
"The tactics include abductions and killings and the propagation of hate speech through the state broadcasting corporation," Ban said of the violence that has broken out.
He added that forces loyal to Gbagbo have escalated the types of weapons they are using in their attacks, in addition to recruiting mercenaries. Many of these mercenaries, he told the assembly, are former combatants from Liberia who have been hired to target certain civilian populations.
UNOCI, which has been harboring UN-endorsed Ouattara in the Golf Hotel, has come under fire from Gbagbo's supporters. The situation escalated on Dec. 18 with an attack on UNOCI in Abidjan.
"Any attack on the United Nations and its staff must be considered an attack on the international community," Ban said. " Those who perpetuate such acts of who harm civilians, will be held accountable to the fullest extent under national and international human rights law."
Fervor against UNOCI has been fueled by negative propaganda in Cote d'Ivoire, Ban said, notably Radio Television Ivorian (ITI), which has been used to "incite violence against UNOCI and disseminate false information against our mission."
"We have been accused of violating Cote d'Ivoire's sovereignty and providing support to the Forces Nouvelles, including by distributing arms," Ban said. "This is wrong."
The Forces Nouvelles fighters support Ouattara as the rightful president.
Forces loyal to Gbagbo have been obstructing the delivery of essential supplies to UNOCI and the movement of UNOCI peacekeepers, according to Ban.
"I am concerned that this disruption of life-support supplies for the mission and the Golf Hotel will put our peacekeepers in a critical situation in the coming few days," he said. "I therefore strongly appeal to member states -- who are in a position to do so -- to prepare to support the mission to assist with the continued flow of supplies."
Ban also told the assembly that he applauds the Security Council's Monday decision to extend UNOCI's mandate to Jun. 30, 2011, and that he will remain engaged with African leaders "to bring the current stand-off to a peaceful end in a manner that respects the democratically expressed will of the Ivorian people."
