Snapshot – Côte d’Ivoire, Fighting spreads to Duekoué

Abidjan Districts

About Karno Ouattara in the SFCG Côte d’Ivoire Office continues to update us on the ongoing conflict:

The situation on the ground here is not improving. Every day there is lots of violence, particularly in Abidjan, which has gradually moved into a sort of urban guerrilla warfare. Yesterday, the Abidjan districts of Attécoubé, Port Bouet 2, and Yopougon were the stage for many scenes of violence perpetrated by armed men.  The main targets are the mosques and police stations. A Port Bouet  Imam was killed when his mosque was attacked. To prevent the violence from taking a religious turn, the associate of Imams of Côte d’Ivoire has appealed for calm and forgiveness from all Ivoirian Muslims.

Relative calm prevails here. However, clashes in the West have been reported. Duekoué has suffered from heavy fighting throughout Wednesday morning. At least two people have been killed in an attack there, but we don’t yet have accurate information to know who the perpetrators are. The Republican Forces of Côte d’Ivoire (former Forces Nouvelles) have been accused by the Forces of Defense and Security, but say they are not involved in the violence in Duekoué.

Trapped in this spiral of violence, there are many people in Côte d’Ivoire who take refuge in neighboring countries or return to their countries of origin for non-Ivorians. UNHCR announced that approximately 90,000 Ivorian refugees are in Liberia. OIM (International Organization for Migration) announced that for its part, it has already assisted about 2,000 Mauritanians to return to their country. 1,500 others are awaiting repatriation to Mauritania.

Additionally, people in the various districts of Abidjan plagued by rampant gun violence, feel increasingly less safe and continue their exodus to cities in the country’s interior. We don’t yet know how many people have left Abidjan thus far. One question running through all of our heads is: “When will there be an end to all these acts of violence and a return to a normal life?”  Indeed, it will soon be nine years that Côte d’Ivoire has been embroiled in this crisis, which has proven hard to leave behind despite all efforts made.

~About Karno Ouattara

Read About’s earlier update here.