I Coast protestors end chaos
2006-01-20 07:59
Abidjan - Supporters of Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo late on Thursday started to heed his call for an end to violent protests as the UN Security Council adopted a tough statement condemning the movement that has brought Abidjan to a halt for a fourth day.
No sooner had Tanzania's UN envoy Augustine Mahiga read the statement brandishing the threat of sanctions, than the supporters started to dismantle barricades and ended a sit-in at the French embassy.
Only around 50 of the 3 000 demonstrators remained at the UN headquarters which had earlier been under siege, prompting the Security Council to demand "the immediate end of this violence and all hatred messages in the media, in particular the attacks against the United Nations".
In Abidjan militant backers of the president have been protesting since Monday at a recommendation from a UN-mandated working group (IWG) that the parliament stand down as its term had ended.
About 3 000 demonstrators had earlier on Thursday besieged the UN headquarters in Abidjan which they had tried to storm on Tuesday and Wednesday before being beaten back by Jordanian peacekeepers firing tear gas and warning shots.
Charles Ble Goude's pro-Gbagbo "Young Patriots" had also maintained a sit-in in front of the embassy of France, Ivory Coast's former colonial ruler, which along with the UN has thousands of peacekeeping troops in the divided country.
At UN headquarters in New York the French-drafted statement "strongly condemns the recent violent attacks" against the 7 000-strong UN force (ONUCI) and international humanitarian agencies in Ivory Coast "by street militias and other groups associated with the 'Young Patriots' as well as their instigators".
Five dead, nine wounded
The text warned that "targeted measures will be imposed against persons ... who among other things block the implementation of the peace process, including by attacking or obstructing the action of UNOCI, the French forces, the high representative for the elections or of the IWG, or who incite publicly hatred and violence."
But he said it would not mean the immediate imposition of the targeted sanctions. A list of targeted individuals would have to be reviewed by the council's sanctions committee.
Abidjan's streets were empty of pedestrians on Thursday and security forces were again virtually invisible, despite an official ban on demonstrations.
On Wednesday evening, the president had urged the so-called Young Patriots to end the violence and people to return to work.
Official Ivorian sources raised the toll to five dead when Bangladeshi UN troops clashed on Wednesday with youths who attacked military camps at Guiglo and Duekoue in the west.
Nine people were wounded, they said, amending an earlier figure of 12.
Late on Thursday Canada said it was temporarily closing its embassy in Abidjan and advising Canadians in the country "to limit their movements until the situation becomes safer".