More than 450.000 people have fled their homes because of the crisis in Ivory Coast, the UN refugee agency says.
Dead bodies were being eaten by dogs in the streets of the main city, Abidjan after recent fighting, a UNHCR spokeswoman told the BBC online Friday.
Some 370.000 people have fled their homes in Abidjan, while a further 77.000 have crossed into neighbouring Liberia, according to the UNHCR.
It said the “unfolding tragedy” in Ivory Coast had been overlooked while international attention has been focused on North Africa – and now the Asian tsunami.
– We are seeing a lot of desolate scenes like dead bodies still littering the streets of [Abidjan district] Abobo where there has been a lot of violence for weeks, UNHCR spokeswoman Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba told the BBC.
Meanwhile, Alassane Ouattara, widely recognised as the winner of last year’s poll, has gone to regional powerhouse Nigeria to get help ousting his rival. Mr Ouattara flew to the Nigerian capital after the African Union endorsed him as the rightful winner of November’s election.
Laurent Gbagbo refuses to cede power. There are growing fears that the situation could descend into civil war.
Former rebel forces who support Mr Ouattara still control the north while most of the army remains loyal to Mr Gbagbo. Some 9.000 UN peacekeepers are in the country, monitoring a ceasefire line between the two forces.
