A six year ceasefire between New Forces rebels and government forces in the West African nation of the Ivory Coast, came to end when fighting erupted in the village of Teapieu early Thursday morning, according to a United Nations spokesperson.
Teapieu is located in a ‘buffer” zone between the northern and southern portions of the country, which has been divided by allegiances since a 2002 rebellion divided the largest cocoa production in the world between the government-controlled South and New Forces rebels in the north.
The political climate in the country has been growing increasingly tense since President Laurent Gbagbo refused to acknowledge the validity of the November election, in which Alassane Ouattara was declared the winner of an internationally-recognized election. Gbagbo has claimed American and French interference in the political situation in Ivory Coast and has colored his refusal to step down as an attempt protect the country from neo-colonialists. His constitutional council declared election results, which indicated a win for Ouattara, invalid. Ouattara spent most of his political career in economics, including his appointment as a deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund. Supporters of Gbagbo have alleged that Ouattara was involved in the 2002 attempted coup d’etat, a charge he has vigorously denied.
Thursdays’ fighting was the first instance in which armed troops supporting Ouattara fought those supporting Gbagbo, indicating that support for Ouattara has become more organized and widespread; smaller clashes involving unarmed citizens occurred in December and January. Ouattara’s military spokesperson said that at 5 A.M Thursday morning, New Forces troops allied with their cause came under fire. Gbagbo’s spokesperson said that police were returning fire “courageously” following an ambush of over 50 armed men supporting Ouattara on Tuesday morning.
Hamadoun Toure, the UN spokesperson for the mission in Ivory Coast said this morning, “”It will…change the nature of the tension because so far we’ve been witnessing violence between civilians and the army – but now if we have two armies face to face it will be very very complicated.” Udolamb Ngokwey, another UN representative in Ivory Coast warned that the political tension from the contested election is being exploited to catalyze long-simmering ethnic hatred in the region.
The clashes between members of rival political factions, in the capital city of Abidijan, has reportedly already claimed up to 20 lives since fighting broke out on Monday. Thursday morning’s fighting saw the involvement of military forces, a sign of escalating turmoil in the region. BBC correspondents have indicated that the pro-Ouattara suburb of Abobo has been one of the primary sites of the fighting. The UN has indicated that over 500 pro-Ouattara supporters have been killed in the months since the election. Residents are fleeing by the hundreds, according to these sources, despite the fact that public transportation has been shut down.
The threat of continued escalation looms. There have been widespread threats that the urban neighborhoods of Koumassi, Adjame and Yopougon will be targeted next. The Prime Minister in Ouattara’s camp indicated last week that Gbagbo’s continued refusal to step down from power will result in an “Egypt-style” people’s revolution, assisted by the New Forces rebel militia in the north.
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Jacklyn Lacey
Jacklyn Lacey is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, where her academic focus was medical anthropology. She lived in East Africa between 2005 and 2006, where she developed a strong interest in the relationship between public health and human rights. Her most recent writing ...
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