- Title: IVORY COAST : Gunmen attack Ivory Coast power stations, security facilities.
- Date: 15th October 2012
- Summary: ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (OCTOBER 15, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF OFFICIALS WALKING IN THE GROUNDS OF POWER STATION VARIOUS OF POWER STATION WITH SOLDIERS STANDING (SOUND BITE) (French) IVORY COAST DEFENCE MINISTER PAUL KOFFI KOFFI, SAYING: "The site was object of an attack by elements who came, some in military clothes, some as civilians, after they overpowered our men who were there to assure security." OFFICIALS ENTERING THE POWER STATION CONTROL ROOM VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS OUTSIDE CONTROL ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (French) IVORY COAST DEFENCE MINISTER PAUL KOFFI KOFFI, SAYING: "We arrested around 10 people who came here as assailants, and who were taken and are now being interrogated by our forces." VARIOUS OF OFFICIALS LOOKING AT GRENADE IMPACT ON GROUND (SOUNDBITE) (French) IVORY COAST ENERGY MINISTER, ADAMA TOUNGARA, SAYING: "The turbine that has been stopped produces 150 megawatts, which amounts to around 15 percent of the national demand of energy." VARIOUS OF POWER STATION WITH SOLDIERS STANDING (SOUNDBITE) (French) IVORY COAST ENERGY MINISTER, ADAMA TOUNGARA, SAYING: "There won't be any blackouts resulting from the damage, which seem to be serious, because the Azito team knows what they are doing, the Azito team is able to repair it." VARIOUS OF BANNERS, WITH PLANT SEEN IN BACKGROUND VARIOUS OF BANNER WITH CHECKPOINT SEEN IN BACKGROUND, UNITED NATIONS VEHICLE PASSING
- Embargoed: 30th October 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Cote d'Ivoire
- Country: Ivory Coast
- Topics: Crime
- Reuters ID: LVAD1HLZJWEIK60ZYHVF6BDTZBI9
- Story Text: Gunmen cause shut down of electricity turbine in first attack on Ivorian power infastructure.
Gunmen attacked power stations and security facilities in and around Ivory Coast's commercial capital Abidjan in coordinated overnight raids that ended early on Monday (October 15), the defence minister said.
The attacks, the first targeting high-profile infrastructure, come a week after a United Nations report claimed that supporters of former President Laurent Gbagbo had established a base of operations in neighbouring Ghana.
The government of current President Alassane Ouattara last month closed its eastern border with Ghana for more than two weeks, claiming raids had been launched from Ghanaian soil.
Defence Minister Paul Koffi Koffi said a group of armed men disarmed guards protecting the Azito thermal power station in Abidjan's Yopougon neighbourhood late on Sunday night and briefly occupied the site.
"The site was object of an attack by elements who came, some in military clothes, some as civilians, after they overpowered our men who were there to assure security," he told Reuters.
"We arrested around 10 people who came here as assailants, and who were taken and are now being interrogated by our forces," Koffi Koffi said.
One of the station's turbines was damaged in the raid and had been shut down, the mines and energy minister said.
"The turbine that has been stopped produces 150 megawatts, which amounts to around 15 percent of the national demand of energy," Energy Minister Adama Toungara said.
"There won't be any blackouts resulting from the damage, which seem to be serious, because the Azito team knows what they are doing,"
Ivory Coast possesses an enviably reliable power grid and also exports electricity to Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo and Mali, said the power station was not damaged in the attack.
Gunmen launched another raid in the town of Bonoua, around 60 km east of Abidjan, where they attempted to break into a police station and gendarmerie to steal weapons.
A spokesman for the Ivorian army said the attacks were "synchronised". He said military authorities were still investigating whether there had been any deaths or injuries in the violence.
Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa grower, is recovering from a brief civil war last year that erupted after Gbagbo refused to the accept Ouattara's victory in an election in late 2010.
More than 3,000 people were killed in the violence, and Gbagbo is now awaiting trial before the International Criminal Court charged with crimes against humanity.
While many of the leading members of his government and military were arrested following the fighting, others fled the country and are living in exile, mainly in neighbouring West African states.
Gunmen began attacking army and police installations mainly in Abidjan and other southern towns in August, after more than a year of relative peace.
Ghana's government has denied the accusations, and Gbagbo's backers say Ouattara's government is using the violence as a pretext for a crackdown on the opposition and dozens of arrests.
However, a confidential report by U.N. investigators seen by Reuters last week said Ghana-based former members of the Gbagbo regime had created a "military structure," hired mercenaries and established several training camps in eastern Liberia. The investigators said the aim was to topple Ouattara's government. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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