IVORY COAST: "Invisible Commando" militia leader Ibrahim Coulibaly declares loyalty to President Alassane Ouattara
Record ID:
181649
IVORY COAST: "Invisible Commando" militia leader Ibrahim Coulibaly declares loyalty to President Alassane Ouattara
- Title: IVORY COAST: "Invisible Commando" militia leader Ibrahim Coulibaly declares loyalty to President Alassane Ouattara
- Date: 20th April 2011
- Summary: ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (APRIL 19, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF HEADQUARTERS OF INVISIBLE COMMANDO SOLDIERS ON BALCONY WITH WEAPON VARIOUS OF GENERAL IBRAHIM COULIBALY ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS SEATED FOR NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS MORE OF COULIBALY AND INVISIBLE COMMANDO SOLDIERS MORE OF JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (French) GENERAL IBRAHIM COULIBALY, LEADER OF THE INVISIBLE COMMANDO, SAYING: "It's not up to me to say what role I will play. The Invisible Commandos are at the service of the republic, its people and its head of state. So it's the head of state who will be the one deciding what role he will want the Invisible Commando to play. The Invisible Commando doesn't have any problems with anyone and it's available to work wherever the head of state will want it to." COULIBALY AND CAMERAMEN JOURNALIST'S HAND WRITING SOLDIERS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (French) GENERAL IBRAHIM COULIBALY, LEADER OF THE INVISIBLE COMMANDO, SAYING: "We should create a new army, so we should mix all these armies together to create a new Ivorian army. I think that would be effective in the days to come. The President of the republic knows that this is a major element in the country's development because Ivorians need security and assurances to be able to go about their daily business. The joining of all these army is obligatory." VARIOUS MORE OF SOLDIERS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (French) GENERAL IBRAHIM COULIBALY, LEADER OF THE INVISIBLE COMMANDO, SAYING: "They (Gbagbo's Forces of Defence and Security) should be associated to the peace, we need to include them in the new army, they need to participate to the reconstruction. It's the only way forward now, those who don't want to include them, they will see consequences. It's not up to me to say, but I want to give an example. We were in exile because of problems of exclusion. And what does that solve? What does that solve? If you exclude them, without asking them to come back, without forgiving them, you need to expect a rebellion one day." MORE OF COULIBALY WALKING AND SHAKING HANDS WITH PEOPLE, INVISIBLE COMMANDO SOLDIERS ON GUARD
- Embargoed: 5th May 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Cote d'Ivoire
- Country: Ivory Coast
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA9M2C775H335GZ6TONAMG31Z9G
- Story Text: The head of a powerful militia that fought against Laurent Gbagbo in Ivory Coast on Tuesday (April 19) pledged allegiance to President Alassane Ouattara and dismissed reports that his men had fallen out with other fighters.
Ibrahim Coulibaly, head of the "Invisible Commandos" who harassed Gbagbo forces in Abidjan for weeks, said pro-Gbagbo forces must be included in the country's new army to avoid future bloodshed.
Ouattara won a November election which previous president Gbagbo refused to cede, leading to a four-month power struggle that ended last week when pro-Ouattara forces captured Gbagbo.
Gbagbo's arrest has raised hopes for peace in the leading cocoa grower.
But the weeks of heavy fighting have left groups of armed men scattered across the country.
Analysts have questioned whether Ouattara would be able to control Coulibaly once he came to power.
But Coulibaly said his men were ready to work in whatever role president Outtara assigns to them.
"It's not up to me to say what role I will play. The Invisible Commandos are at the service of the republic, its people and its head of state. So it's the head of state who will be the one deciding what role he will want the Invisible Commando to play. The Invisible Commando doesn't have any problems with anyone and it's available to work wherever the head of state will want it to."
He dismissed reports of disputes with other militias, saying that his 5,000 fighters were working alongside pro-Ouattara forces Coulibaly's attacks in the north of the commercial capital appeared to open the way for Ouattara's supporters to sweep south and enter the city.
Aside from restarting the economy, which was paralysed by the violence and international sanctions imposed on Gbagbo, Ouattara will have to forge a unified national army.
"We should create a new army, so we should mix all these armies together to create a new Ivorian army. I think that would be effective in the days to come. The President of the republic knows that this is a major element in the country's development because Ivorians need security and assurances to be able to go about their daily business. The joining of all these army is obligatory," Coulibaly said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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