IVORY COAST: Abidjan residents come out on the streets to look for food and water as fierce fighting over control of the city continues

Record ID: 181604

  • Title: IVORY COAST: Abidjan residents come out on the streets to look for food and water as fierce fighting over control of the city continues
  • Date: 8th April 2011
  • Summary: ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (APRIL 7, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF STREET WITH THREE YOUNG MEN WALKING MORE OF STREET WITH PEOPLE WALKING EMPTY STREET VARIOUS OF WOMEN TAKING RUBBISH OUT, ACCUMULATED FOR DAYS PEOPLE LOOKING AT A BUILDING WITH BULLETS IMPACT ON IT VARIOUS OF BULLETS IMPACT ON BUILDING HELICOPTER IN THE SKY MAN HOLDING USED AMMUNITION IN HAND AMMUNITION IN PILE ON GROUND, PEOPLE IN BACKGROUND WALKING MORE OF AMMUNITION ON THE GROUND MORE OF BULLET IMPACT ON BUILDINGS
  • Embargoed: 23rd April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cote d'Ivoire
  • Country: Ivory Coast
  • Topics: War / Fighting,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACDX5TMYCRV38L4BDRH6LZGDVA
  • Story Text: Residents ventured into the streets early morning on Thursday (April 7) to search for food and water after another night of heavy shelling in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan.
    Fighting between forces loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and his rival Alassane Ouattara battling to control the city virtually brought it to a standstill.
    People are running out of food supplies and in many parts of the city the electricity and water are cut off.
    Rubbish piles up on the streets, after a week with no rubbish collections.
    Helicopters still hovered over the tense city.
    French forces destroyed military vehicles belonging to troops loyal to Gbagbo during a helicopter-borne mission that rescued Japan's ambassador to the West African country on Thursday.
    The French, who have already joined helicopter raids to destroy Gbagbo's heavy weapons, went in after Gbagbo soldiers broke into the residence, where ambassador Yoshifumi Okamura, along with seven of his staff, had taken shelter inside a safe room, a French armed forces spokesman said.
    The rescue came as forces loyal to presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara laid siege to Gbagbo's own residence nearby after an attempt to pluck him from his bunker on Wednesday (April 6) met with fierce resistance.
    Fighting continued in Abidjan as Ouattara's forces tried to unseat Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power after losing a November election to Ouattara, according to U.N.-certified results.
  • 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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