UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has rejected a call for UN troops to leave Ivory Coast as tensions escalate after last month’s presidential election, BBC online reports Saturday.
Incumbent Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo had earlier demanded that all foreign peacekeepers leave the country. His spokesperson accused UN and French troops of colluding (samarbejde) with former rebels.
The UN and major powers have recognised Mr Gbagbo’s rival, Alassane Ouattara, as the winner of the 28 November poll. Mr Gbagbo insists he has won. Mr Ouattara is currently under UN protection at a hotel in Abidjan.
Mr Ban said the UN mission “will fulfil its mandate and will continue to monitor and document any human rights violations, incitement to hatred and violence, or attacks on UN peacekeepers”.
Earlier, the UN said one of its patrols had come under fire as it entered the mission compound in Abidjan, the country’s main city.
The United Nations, the US, former colonial power France, and the African Union have all called on Mr Gbagbo to stand down. French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday said he should quit by Sunday or face EU sanctions.
But Mr Gbagbo says the election was rigged by rebels who still hold the north after the civil war in 2002-03. He was declared the winner by the Constitutional Council after it annulled votes in parts of the north. A peace deal signed by all sides gave the UN a role in certifying the election results.
UN peacekeepers are currently defending the lagoon-side hotel that shelters Mr Ouattara’s opposition government. The UN’s radio station Unoci FM is one of the few alternative news sources for Ivorians, after opposition newspapers were banned and many foreign news channels taken off the air.
Non-essential UN staff have already left, BBC notes.
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http://www.u-landsnyt.dk/nyhed/18-12-10/elfenbenskysten-pr-sident-smider-fns-fredsstyrke-u
og “Count-down to deadlock” på
http://www.IRINnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=91335
