FRANCE sent hundreds of troops to Ivory Coast and took control of the airport in the main city of Abidjan yesterday after reports that 800 people were killed in a single town during violence over disputed elections.
As fierce gunbattles continued across Abidjan, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon expressed “concern and alarm” about reports of a massacre in the western town of Duékoué, where the International Committee of the Red Cross said at least 800 people had been killed.
Forces loyal to presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara are battling to depose his rival Laurent Gbagbo, who has resisted international pressure to step down after a disputed election that has rekindled a civil war it was meant to end.
Mr Ouattara, who is recognised by the UN as the winner of November’s election, has been confined to a hotel in Abidjan under UN protection for the past five months.
His forces swiftly took control of swathes of the country during a new offensive last week, but Gbagbo loyalists have put up tough resistance in Abidjan, the commercial capital and the heart of his power base.
Following three days of pitched battles, there were reports last night of sporadic gunfire and explosions in the city. Elite troops loyal to Mr Gbagbo have held on to positions around the presidential palace and the state television headquarters.
The UN mission in the country said traditional hunters had joined Mr Ouattara’s forces in killing 330 people in Duékoué last week, and Ban Ki-moon told Mr Ouattara yesterday he was “concerned and alarmed” about reports that forces loyal to him may have killed civilians. Mr Ouattara has denied his forces took part in the massacre.
France said its forces took over Abidjan airport to facilitate the evacuation of foreigners and sent 300 more troops to Ivory Coast, bringing its total deployment to 1,500.
Some 1,600 foreigners, of whom about half are French, have taken refuge at a French military camp close to the airport, and president Nicolas Sarkozy last night ordered all French citizens in Abidjan to assemble together as a means of protection.
France, the former colonial power, has supported calls for Mr Gbagbo to step down but fears reprisals against its 12,000 citizens. Ivorian state TV, which remains under Mr Gbagbo’s control, yesterday broadcast violent anti-French messages, accusing French troops of occupying the country and preparing a genocide like in Rwanda in 1994.
A caption on state TV read: “Sarkozy’s men are preparing a Rwandan genocide in Ivory Coast. Ivorians, Ivorians, let us go out en masse and occupy the streets.”
As the violence worsened, the UN mission said it had flown non-essential staff to the northern city of Bouaké after a number came under attack. The UN has about 12,000 peacekeepers in the west African country, and Mr Sarkozy called for the “full implementation” of the security council resolution that allows them to protect civilians.