UN forces fire on Ivory Coast pro-Gbagbo camp

UN helicopters have fired on a camp of forces loyal to Ivory Coast's incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo as his opponent's fighters launched a new offensive on the main city, Abidjan.

Loud explosions have been heard as fighters backing internationally recognised President Alassane Ouattara move towards the presidential palace.

France has authorised its forces to join the UN in protecting civilians.

Reports from Abidjan say several people have been kidnapped.

The group, including two French nationals, were seized by "armed men" from the Novotel hotel, the French foreign ministry told the AFP news agency.
Heavy weapons

A UN official told the BBC that UN attack helicopters had fired missiles at heavy weapons in a pro-Gbagbo military camp.

He said the operation was aimed at preventing use of the weapons, which have been deployed against both UN personnel and Ivory Coast civilians in recent days.

The official said the decision to go ahead with the operation was made in light of the mission's mandate to protect civilians.

Earlier, the UN chief's representative accused pro-Gbagbo forces of "mindless" attacks on the UN base in Abidjan.

Eleven peacekeepers have been shot in recent days.

Choi Young-jin, special representative of the UN Secretary General in Ivory Coast, told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme: "We are fast approaching a tipping point.

"We are planning action, we can no longer condone their [Mr Gbagbo's forces] reckless and mindless attack on civilians and the United Nations blue helmets with heavy weapons."

"We are now in a way under siege, so we cannot go out freely, [they're] targeting us with snipers, it's a deliberate shoot at United Nations.

"For the last few days we have 11 [peacekeepers] wounded by their gunshots. They are targeting the headquarters, they cut off the water… and we are now in the bunker."

The special representative said the 9,000 troops who are part of the UN mission in Ivory Coast (Unoci) did not have a mandate to dislodge Mr Gbagbo, but they did have the powers to respond to heavy weapons attacks against the UN or civilians.

The UN in Ivory Coast has a Ukrainian aviation unit with three Mi-24 attack helicopters, as well as lightly armed Mi-8 and Mi-17 utility helicopters.

It says 20 of its peacekeepers have been injured in total since the recent crisis began in the West African country.

The BBC's Andrew Harding says pro-Ouattara troops have been massing just outside Abidjan.

Mr Ouattara's forces captured most of the country after mounting a major offensive a week ago.

But the battle for Abidjan has been much harder in a city where Mr Gbagbo draws much of his support.

There was a lull in fighting earlier on Monday as Mr Ouattara's camp prepared for what could be a major offensive to capture the main city.

The country's former colonial ruler, France, has taken control of Abidjan airport from the UN mission and is adding 150 soldiers to bring its force to 1,650.

France - which has about 12,000 citizens in Ivory Coast - has had peacekeepers in the country since its civil war almost a decade ago.

France said on Monday it had begun gathering its citizens at three points in Abidjan for possible evacuation.

One of the assembly points is at a French military camp where more than 1,650 foreigners, around half of them French, have been since Sunday morning, reports AFP news agency.

Our correspondent says many residents in the city of five million people are trapped indoors without food, water and electricity.

They occasionally venture out to brave bullets and looters in search of supplies, he adds.
Defiance

Mr Gbagbo's spokesman, Abdon George Bayeto, told the BBC's World Today programme on Monday there was an international plot against the incumbent president.

"When it comes to a fight, we are going to put up a fight," he said. "The president is not going to step down."

Guillaume Soro, Mr Ouattara's prime minister, said there would be a "rapid offensive" on Abidjan.

Meanwhile, the UN has sent an envoy to investigate the massacre of hundreds of civilians in the western town of Duekoue.

The violence happened last week, when Mr Outtara's fighters moved south, ousting Mr Gbagbo's troops from large swathes of the country. Both sides have said the other was responsible.

The UN said on Saturday that more than 330 people had been killed, mostly by Mr Ouattara's forces. However, more than 100 people were killed by Mr Gbagbo's troops, it added.

However, the Caritas aid agency estimated that 1,000 may have been killed.


Source: 4 April 2011 - BBC
Photo: UN helicopters have been circling over Abidjan for days (AFP)

(5.04.2011)