The EU has condemned what it described as "orchestrated acts of violence" in Côte d'Ivoire after four pro-government protesters were killed there yesterday when UN peacekeepers opened fire to repel an attack on their base.
Ivory Coast's president also urged his supporters today to end the wave of attacks on UN peacekeepers.
European Union statement
President Laurent Gbagbo's supporters have staged three days of anti-UN riots to protest at what they call foreign meddling in the war-divided West African state. Ivorian state media reports put the death toll at five.
Mr Gbagbo's call came after Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is also chairman of the African Union, flew in to meet the Ivorian leader.
A declaration by the Austrian presidency on behalf of the EU said it "resolutely condemns the orchestrated acts of violence which have been taking place in Côte d'Ivoire, particularly in Abidjan, since Monday 16 January, and also the attacks on the UNOCI contingent".
"These acts constitute a serious impediment to the peace process. The European Union calls on all political players to bring these unacceptable acts to an end immediately, and requests that all necessary measures be taken to ensure the safety of the international and diplomatic presence."
The EU reiterated its "full support" for prime minister Konan Banny with a view to the successful completion of the transition process initiated by the African Union in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1633, the statement added.
Bangladeshi peacekeepers were forced to shoot yesterday as protesters stormed their camp at Guiglo in the west and four protesters were killed, a UN spokeswoman said. UN soldiers later evacuated four bases in the west.
Hundreds of young Gbagbo loyalists clamouring for UN and French peacekeeping troops to leave have attacked UN bases, residences and vehicles with petrol bombs and stones across the government-controlled south since Monday.
They oppose a weekend call by foreign mediators to end the mandate of parliament, which is dominated by Gbagbo loyalists. The attacks revived calls for the Security Council to impose sanctions on those preventing peace when it meets today.
The latest violence threatens to derail what has been a fragile ceasefire since 2003 maintained by nearly 7,000 UN troops and police and 4,000 French soldiers.