800 killed in Ivorian fighting
Troops loyal to Alassane Ouattara drive a vehicle along a street in Abidjan on April 1, 2011. - Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo's forces repulsed an offensive by his rival Alassane Ouattara on the presidential palace and his home in Abidjan, his spokesman Ahoua Don Mello. AFP PHOTO
Abidjan, Saturday
Heavy weapons fire rang out across Abdijan today while rival forces battled for control of the city, as reports emerged of carnage in western Cote d’Ivoire where the ICRC said 800 were killed in one day.
Fierce battles the day before shook the city, with forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo repulsing an assault as the cornered strongman clung to power.
Fighters backing president-in-waiting Alassane Ouattara — who has been unable to assume office since a disputed November election -- warned that the offensive “has not yet begun.”
“We are taking steps to weaken the enemy before mounting an assault,” said Captain Leon Kouakou Alla, spokesman for Ouattara’s defence ministry.
Meanwhile, Gbagbo’s soldiers took to state television in the morning to mobilise his loyal troops, ignoring a deafening chorus by world leaders that he step down immediately.
Weary with failed diplomatic efforts to resolve a post-election crisis, Ouattara’s army on Monday launched a lightning offensive across the country before arriving in Abidjan on Thursday.
Fierce fighting accompanied by loud explosions and bursts of machine gunfire sent residents of the city of five million people into lockdown, and some 1,400 foreigners seeking refuge at a French military camp.
Irregular shooting
On Saturday, a resident of the suburb of Cocody reported “irregular shooting, the deafening sound of heavy weapons and bursts of machine gun fire” around state television RTI, situated in the same area as Gbagbo’s private home.
RTI, briefly captured by Ouattara’s army, was back on air Saturday.
In a brief, haphazard newcast, a soldier, accompanied by a dozen other members of Gbagbo’s Defense and Security Forces (FDS), read a statement.
“FDS positions were attacked by hordes of mercenaries, supported by ONUCI (UN mission) soldiers and Licorne,” he said, referring to the French troops stationed in the former French colony.
Ouattara’s government reported numerous mass graves had been found, “especially in Toulepleu, Blolequin and Guiglo, whose authors are none other than the loyal forces, mercenaries and militias of Laurent Gbagbo.”
The accusation came after the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said at least 800 were killed on Tuesday during fighting in Duekoue, a major crossroads in western Cote d’Ivoire.
“At least 800 people were killed in Duekoue on Tuesday,” an ICRC spokeswoman in Geneva, Dorothea Krimitsas, told AFP, adding that information on the death toll had been gathered by Red Cross workers who visited the area on Thursday and Friday. (AFP)
