Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Ivory Coast getting close to civil war again


Let's turn our lenses from the Middle East and North Africa to West Africa.
The United Nations said that Belarus had seriously violated the arms sale embargo to Ivory Coast when the former Soviet republic was reported to have delivered three attack helicopters and related weapons to sitting president Laurent Gbagbo who refuses to relinquish his power to the internationally-recognized winner of the November 2010 presidential elections Alassane Ouattara, according to a report by the BBC.
The embargo has been enforced since 2004 after the world's largest cocoa producer broke into a civil war in 2002.
UN Chief Ban Ki-moon said that the first helicopter arrived on Sunday and the additional two were scheduled on flights on Monday.
Belarus through its foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Savinykh said the accusations were "groundless".
Clashes had broken between the supporters of the two sides in the Abobo district of capital Abidjan last week.
The world body warned that the West African state is on the brink of civil war again.
It was reported that the antenna of state television station in the capital was attacked taking it off the air in many areas.
Hundreds of people left their homes and are fleeing to the Liberian border.
At least three people were killed in last week's attacks. Post-election death toll was posted at 315.
More of this story here.
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