10 dead in Ivory Coast clashes

NAIROBI/ABIDJAN - At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured in Ivory Coast Thursday as soldiers loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo clashed with supporters of his rival for the presidency.

Gbagbo is clinging onto power despite wide international recognition of Alassane Ouattara as the rightful winner of last month’s polls - which were aimed at putting to bed the ghost of the 2002 civil war that split the country between the mainly Muslim north and Christian south.

Ouattara had called on his supporters in the economic capital Abidjan to take control of state television, which has remained under Gbagbo’s control and has been broadcasting news complimentary to his regime.

Guillaume Soro, Ouattara’s prime minister and leader of the former northern rebel New Forces, said in a statement that a large crowd of Ouattara supporters came under fire as they attempted to breach the cordon around the building.

Hundreds of protestors facing down soldiers in armoured vehicles, and witnesses told rights body Amnesty International they saw at least nine people shot dead during the protests. Other reports suggested the death toll could be as high as thirty.

“Every effort must be made to prevent an escalation of violence,” said Salvatore Sagues, Amnesty International’s West Africa researcher. “There is a very real threat that many more lives will be lost if the security forces continue to shoot at protesters indiscriminately.”

Gun battles broke out in other areas of Abidjan, including around the UN-protected Golf Hotel, from where Ouattara is trying to run his alternative government with heavily armed security from New Forces.

Soro said one was killed and two seriously injured when a New Forces scout party detailed to provide security for Ouattara came under fire near the hotel.

An unidentified man who answered the telephone at the Golf Hotel said the gunfire had died away in the early morning and the area around the hotel was calm.

Hamadoun Toure, spokesman for the 10,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast, said security around the hotel had been stepped up.

Despite the bloodshed, Soro called on more people to join the battle to take control of the television station, raising the spectre of more bloodshed.

“The prime minister calls on the population to mobilise … and reclaim freedom of information from the state media,” a statement from New Forces issued after the initial clashes said.

Gbagbo’s regime has cut off the signals of all foreign television stations, leaving the state-controlled RTI as the main source of news.

Protests are expected to continue Friday.

Wednesday evening, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had warned of a possible return to civil war as the standoff became more tense.

Ban’s statement said the secretary general was “deeply concerned about the continuing political stalemate” in Ivory Coast.

“The situation is taking a worrying turn with unfolding events that could lead to widespread violence,” it added.

Ban reiterated his call for Gbagbo to step down, saying that anybody who incited or perpetrated violence would be held accountable.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, warned prosecutions could be in the offing.

“If they start to kill people then it’s a crime and we will pursue them,” Moreno-Ocampo told France 24. “The reality is that some people in Ivory Coast are planning attacks and we know that. And I want to tell them clearly, if you do that… you will be prosecuted.”

Pressure is growing on Gbagbo, with normally more circumspect African bodies such as the African Union and West African bloc ECOWAS adding their voices to the international chorus calling for him to stand down.