IVORY COAST: Forces loyal to presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara take up combat positions on Abidjan's Northern Corridor road

Record ID: 181721

  • Title: IVORY COAST: Forces loyal to presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara take up combat positions on Abidjan's Northern Corridor road
  • Date: 9th April 2011
  • Summary: ABIDJAN, IVORY (APRIL 8, 2011) (REUTERS) TROOPS LOYAL TO IVORY COAST PRESIDENTIAL CLAIMANT ALASSANE OUATTARA IN MILITARY VEHICLE, MOUNTED WITH MACHINEGUN WOMAN RUNNING THROUGH RAIN VARIOUS OF TROOPS ON VEHICLE WITH MACHINEGUN TROOPS READYING WEAPONS FIGHTER GESTURING DOWN THE ROAD VARIOUS OF FIGHTERS RUNNING THROUGH RAIN TO COVER (GUNFIRE AUDIBLE) FIGHTERS ON MOTORCYCLE PRO-OUATTARA FORCES MOVING INTO POSITION FIGHTER WALKING WHILE HOLDING HANDGUN FIGHTER WITH HEAVY MACHINEGUN VARIOUS OF PICK-UP LOADED WITH FIGHTERS, MOVING OFF VARIOUS OF FIGHTERS TAKING UP POSITIONS BEHIND BARRICADES FIGHTERS CONFERRING LINE OF FIGHTERS MOVING DOWN ROAD FIGHTER RUNNING BETWEEN BUILDINGS LINE OF CIVILIANS CROSSING ROAD FIGHTER RUNNING BETWEEN BUILDINGS FIGHTERS ON ROAD; FRENCH MILITARY VEHICLE BACKING UP FRENCH TROOPS GETTING OUT OF VEHICLE FRENCH SOLDIER FRENCH TROOPS ESCORTING CIVILIAN INTO VEHICLE CONVOY DRIVING OFF FIGHTER WATCHING VEHICLE ALONG ROAD IN RAIN
  • Embargoed: 24th April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cote d'Ivoire
  • Country: Ivory Coast
  • Topics: War / Fighting,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8LVKTMA17GFEC1XT58U7S6BKP
  • Story Text: Forces loyal to Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Outtara took up positions in the strategic northern are of Abdijan on Friday (April 8).
    Soldiers holding machine guns and artillcorridor ery equipment braved bad weather and gunfire, stood behind barricades, trying to secure the northern which links the city to the north of the country.
    Outtara, who claims won last November's election, is trying to oust president Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to stand down and is isolated in his residence in Ivory Coast's main city.
    Residents told Reuters French helicopters struck the area around Gbagbo's compound after the nearby home of the French ambassador came under attack on Friday.
    Elsewhere, United Nations staff in western Ivory Coast have found more than 100 bodies in the past 24 hours, some burned alive and others thrown down a well, the latest evidence of ethnic bloodshed gripping the country.
    The bodies were located at the heart of the cocoa-growing region in the world's biggest producer, near the border with Liberia.
    The discovery came a week after the International Committee of the Red Cross said at least 800 bodies had been found in the town of Duekoue after an explosion violence between communities.
    Religious and tribal fault lines in the region mirror the divide between Gbagbo, whose traditional power base is in the Christian south, and Ouattara's Muslim, northern-based forces.
    While Gbagbo's soldiers have been fingered for most of the atrocities since a disputed November election, Ouattara's forces have also been accused of serious human rights abuses, a factor that could further undermine his legitimacy after taking power.
    Ouattara, recognised as the election winner according to U.N.-certified results, pledged in a speech on Thursday (April 7) to bring those responsible for violence against civilians to justice.
    At a Ouattara military camp north of Abidjan, a senior commander asked some 100 of his soldiers not to go on revenge killings that could only exacerbate ethnic tensions.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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