UN condemns mortar attack on Ivory Coast market

[ProSense]

March 9: Statement by President Barack Obama on the Violence in Cote d'Ivoire

I strongly condemn the abhorrent violence against unarmed civilians in Cote d’Ivoire. I am particularly appalled by the indiscriminate killing of unarmed civilians during peaceful rallies, many of them women, including those who were gunned down as they marched in support of the legitimately elected President Alassane Ouattara. Reports indicate that the women were shot to death by security forces loyal to former President Laurent Gbagbo. On March 8—the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day—we saw pictures of women peacefully rallying with signs that said, “Don’t shoot us”—a strong testament to the bravery of women exercising their right of peaceful assembly.

The United States remains deeply concerned about escalating violence, including the deepening humanitarian and economic crisis and its impact in Cote d’Ivoire and neighboring countries. All armed parties in Cote d’Ivoire must make every effort to protect civilians from being targeted, harmed, or killed. The United States reiterates its commitment to work with the international community to ensure that perpetrators of such atrocities be identified and held individually accountable for their actions.

As we have said since the election results in Cote d’Ivoire were certified: the people of Cote d’Ivoire elected Alassane Ouattara as their President, and Laurent Gbagbo lost the election. Former President Gbagbo’s efforts to hold on to power at the expense of his own country are an assault on the universal rights of his people, and the democracy that the Cote d’Ivoire deserves. The people of Cote d’Ivoire have extraordinary talent and potential, and they deserve leadership that is responsive to their hopes and aspirations. It is time for former President Gbagbo to heed the will of his people, and to complete a peaceful transition of power to President Ouattara.

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March 15: New fighting hampers UN efforts to aid thousands displaced in Côte d’Ivoire

15 March 2011 – Insecurity and the resulting limited humanitarian access in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire’s largest city are compounding United Nations efforts to aid some of the 300,000 people displaced by fighting stemming from defeated president Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to leave office.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), via local implementing partners, began aid distribution in the city over the weekend and has managed to reach some 10,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) so far, spokesperson Melissa Fleming told a news briefing in Geneva today.

But fighting between Gbagbo loyalists and supporters of opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, the UN-certified victor of November’s president run-off vote, continue to complicate aid efforts.

“On Monday (yesterday), new fighting was reported in the city's commercial district of Yopougon, and overall the situation for Abidjan's residents and humanitarian workers alike remains fragile,” Ms. Fleming said, noting that aid distributions scheduled for early this week in villages surrounding Abidjan have been postponed as the fighting blocked the access routes.

“Despite these conditions, our humanitarian partners continue to discover new pockets of IDPs in and around Abidjan, as well as in Akoupé, Yamoussoukro and Jaqueville in south-east and eastern Côte d'Ivoire.”

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March 19: UN condemns mortar attack on Ivory Coast market

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — The mortar shell landed just feet (meters) from Sidibe Siaka as he and his seven close friends were eating lunch at their usual spot in their Abidjan neighborhood. Within minutes, all of his friends were dead.

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“It’s a serious situation, and I think it does amount to, it may well amount to, crimes against humanity,” she said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the U.N. Security Council to “take further measures with regard to the Ivorian individuals who are instigating, orchestrating and committing the violence,” said U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky.

Security Council members, in a statement from China Ambassador Wang Min, said they “reiterate their determination to impose measures, including targeted sanctions, against those who impede the peaceful resolution of the crisis, obstruct the work of UNOCI and other international actors in Cote d’Ivoire or commit violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.”

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[rug]

1. Send in the Tomahawks!

[msongs]

2. first there has to a no fly zone nt

[ProSense]

3. Actually,

rumor has it that first there has to be oil before any one cares about the humanitarian crisis. The OP runs counter to that rumor.

[sad sally]

4. no problemo - we're on a roll - shoot for the moon

[jefferson_dem]

6. Every nation is the same. Every security conflict is the same. Every response should be the same.

A simpleton's rule of thumb for discussion board snarkiness. Easy peasy.

[rug]

7. Swallowing the same rhetoric again and again is the mark of a simpleton.

[Mimosa]

10. And the USA is the world's top cop force?

I despised this garbage when Bush did it, I despise it when Obama did it. I despised it when Johnson and then Nixon did it.

[FrenchieCat]

12. But many simpletons are alike....they only see Black and White,

and think they are funny. :(

[Vinca]

5. Do they have oil? That's the salient issue.

[ProSense]

8. What difference does it make?

Gaddafi had no problems handing the oil companies free rein. They're already in Libya. Oil was always his ticket to Bush and company looking the other way.

The humanitarian effort is underway in Cote d’Ivoire, and the U.N. is ramping up efforts as stated in the OP.

[Vinca]

9. My point is that we never seem to take this kind of action

when people are being slaughtered in countries that don't have oil. Think Rwanda . . . for one.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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