IVORY COAST: Abidjan residents flee after overnight fighting

Record ID: 181562

  • Title: IVORY COAST: Abidjan residents flee after overnight fighting
  • Date: 28th February 2011
  • Summary: ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (FEBRUARY 27, 2011) (REUTERS) RESIDENTS OF ABIDJAN'S NEIGHBOURHOOD OF ABOBO FLEEING WITH LUGGAGE, AND OTHER PERSONAL BELONGINGS, AND WALKING BY UNITED NATION PEACEKEEPING FORCES ON AN ARMOURED VEHICLE ABOBO'S RESIDENTS WALKING ALONG ROAD ABOBO'S WOMEN WALKING BY UN ARMOURED VEHICLE UN OFFICERS ON ARMOURED VEHICLE, ONE TALKING ON A MOBILE PHONE MAN WALKING WITH CHILD UN ARMOURED VEHICLE STATIONED ON ROAD TO ABOBO UN SOLDIERS ON AN ARMOURED VEHICLE MORE OF ABOBO'S RESIDENTS FLEEING
  • Embargoed: 15th March 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cote d'Ivoire
  • Country: Ivory Coast
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA81K1D5E4TNUPS0H5NV1HZ34V
  • Story Text: Ivory Coast civilians fled a neighbourhood of Abidjan on Sunday (February 27) that had seen heavy fighting overnight between forces loyal to incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo and rival groups.
    Men, women and children were seen walking away from the neighbourhood of Abobo which predominantly supports Gbagbo's challenger Alassane Ouattara, while being watched over by U.N. peacekeepers in armoured vehicles.
    After the night's fighting, pro-Gbagbo forces also deployed a number of armoured vehicles to the neighbourhood.
    Meanwhile, broadcasts of Ivory Coast's state television went down across the main city of Abidjan on Sunday after a transmitter was damaged in fighting.
    RTI state television in the world's top cocoa grower has backed Gbagbo in a three-month struggle for power with Ouattara after a Nov. 28 presidential election which U.N.-certified results showed Ouattara won.
    The overnight clashes were the latest in the pro-Ouattara neighbourhood of Abobo.
    A separate advance by rebel forces in the west of the country has prompted fears of a return to civil war in the once-prosperous African state.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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