I Coast on gaurd for attacks
2005-08-25 10:55
Abidjan - Ivory Coast's main student union called on Wednesday on its members to be on their guard and block any attempt to destabilise the West African country by attacking the government of President Laurent Gbagbo.
Its appeal followed a call by a former armed forces chief for Gbagbo to be ousted as president of the deeply divided nation.
"We invite all students to remain vigilant to block all those who will attempt actions aimed at destabilising the regime in place," said Serges Koffi, general secretary of Fesci, a student organisation close to Gbagbo.
General Mathias Doue, fired in November 2004, said in a radio interview last week he would be returning to Ivory Coast and said he would "make (Gbagbo) leave" by "any means".
General Doue's call to overthrow the president has worsened the already tense political situation in the country's main city, Abidjan, where a display of fireworks accompanied by brief bursts of automatic gunfire on Saturday night sparked panic.
Emergency meetings
On Tuesday, following rumours of an "imminent attack", Fesci organised emergency meetings in 16 university residences, Koffi said.
Doue's remarks have led to a rallying of public support among Gbagbo's backers with France, Ivory Coast's former colonial ruler, being blamed for "complicity" with Doue. Calls for mobilisation of "patriotic forces" have been issued and public displays of support organised.
The press freedom watchdog Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) meanwhile protested against a warning from the head of Gbagbo's loyalist forces to any newspapers "who would not work in the interests of the nation", it said in a statement.
The group said it had protested against threats by General Philippe Mangou "to halt the publication of certain newspapers".
Ivory Coast has been split in two since a failed army rebellion in September 2002. The Gbagbo government effectively controls only the south, with the north in the hands of rebels - and United Nations and French troops separating the two sides.