Ivory Coast rebels advance on Abidjan

[anansi]

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – Rebels fighting to install Ivory Coast's democratically elected president began their final descent on Abidjan Thursday, after seizing a key seaport overnight as well as the hometown of the country's entrenched ruler.
United Nations radio announced that the port of San Pedro was taken late Wednesday. Residents reached by telephone said soldiers firing into the air retreated in trucks as the rebels moved into the town about 186 miles (300 kilometers) west of Abidjan, Ivory Coast's largest city.
The rebels have seized over a dozen towns since beginning their onslaught on Monday, and the fall of the cocoa-exporting port of San Pedro came hours after they took the administrative capital, Yamoussoukro, where the fighters did a victory lap as people cheered and clapped.
They have faced almost no resistance in their rapid descent, but many fear the army still loyal to former president Laurent Gbagbo plan to make a final stand in Abidjan, the country's economic hub and its de facto capital where the presidential palace is located.
The rebel army is already on the periphery of Abidjan, said a close aide to Alassane Ouattara, who was recognized by governments around the world as the country's legitimate president after winning last November's presidential election.
"They will enter the city on multiple fronts, from multiple directions," said the adviser who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the press.
He also said that overnight took Gbagbo's hometown, the village of Mama, where the former president had built a lavish villa. "The rebels slept in Gbagbo's bed," said the adviser.
On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to demand an immediate end to the escalating violence and impose sanctions on Gbagbo, who has refused to relinquish the presidency, and his inner circle.
Up to 1 million people have fled the fighting which several analysts are now calling a civil war and at least 462 people have been killed since the vote.
The two men have vied for the presidency for months, with Ouattara using his considerable international clout to financially and diplomatically suffocate Gbagbo. After the final round of diplomatic efforts had failed, the rebels launched a dramatic offensive this week, seizing control of the country from the west, the center and the east.
Seydou Ouattara, a spokesman for the rebels who is not related to the political leader, said that they faced so little pushback from Gbagbo's forces because Gbagbo had tried to neuter the army. Diplomats and human rights groups have said that Gbagbo has enlisted Liberian mercenaries and has armed militias, because he did not trust the regular army.
"He recruited mercenaries. He recruited militias. He essentially told the army we have no confidence in you. We were able to use this to our advantage," said Seydou Ouattara. "In each town, we told the soldiers, we are your brothers. We want the same thing."
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110331/ap_on_bi_ge/af_ivory_coast
Just to remind people there are other things going on in Africa besides Libya.
www.businessweek.com/news/2011-03-30/ivory-coast-capital-yamoussoukro-in-ouattara-troops-control.html
more update

[anansi]

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Soldiers of Ivory Coast's rival leaders battled for the main city Abidjan on Saturday, clashing by the presidential palace and state TV offices in a conflict so brutal that 800 people have died in one smaller town alone.
Advancing soldiers backing Alassane Ouattara, who U.N.-certified results show won a November 28 presidential election, met stiff resistance from fighters loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down.

State television came back on air after fighting took it down for a day, showing Gbagbo looking relaxed and drinking tea, saying the pictures were from his city residence on Saturday.
A Reuters reporter heard gunfire and explosions from heavy shelling near the presidential palace throughout the morning, and clashes also raged around the office of state broadcaster RTI, still in Gbagbo's hands, and military bases in the city.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said at least 800 people were killed in intercommunal violence in the western Ivorian town of Duekoue this week.
Catholic charity Caritas said scores of people were also missing from the town.
"There were very heavy killings in the wake of the advance of Ouattara's forces last week, and many people may have fled," Caritas official Jean Djoman said by telephone from Abidjan. "We think the total of dead and missing there is about 1,000."
That would bring the confirmed death toll from violence since the disputed election, in which Ouattara was the internationally recognized winner, to around 1,300.
The actual toll is likely to be much higher because the fighting has been so heavy and because forces rarely disclose their own losses or civilians they kill.
Gunbattles and heavy weapons fire rang out across Abidjan as former rebels in the West African country -- the world's top cocoa grower -- pressed an offensive to oust Gbagbo.
Residents said they heard loud explosions near Agban military base, the city's largest, in the Adjame neighborhood near Cocody where Gbagbo's residence is.
"It is very loud and we're taking shelter in our homes," said Jules Konin, who lives nearby.
"NO EXILE PLANS, NO SURRENDER"
Forces supporting Ouattara, recognized as president by African nations and Western powers, marched into Abidjan on Thursday after a swift push south that initially met with little formal resistance.
But they now face Gbagbo's most reliable fighters, the roughly 2,500-strong elite Republican Guard, clustered in the coastal city along with remaining regular army troops.
At least 500 Ouattara forces refueled vehicles and regrouped at a service station two km north of Abidjan, now converted into one of their main base camps.
They were mostly tight-lipped about the state of fighting in the city. "All is going well, all is going well," one of them said when asked if the force had encountered difficulties.
State TV ran a statement saying Gbagbo would reject any exile offers and showed an army officer, surrounded by his troops, calling on all members of Gbagbo's security forces to mobilize to counter the offensive by Ouattara's soldiers.
The army handed out weapons to hundreds of members of the pro-Gbagbo Young Patriots group this week, and they have killed a number of civilians, particularly West African immigrants whom state television blames for the rebellion.
"We will die to preserve the republic for our children. This war is unjust," one fighter, who called himself General La Poudriere, told Reuters on Saturday.
Gbagbo has been hit by a number of high-level defections in the military since pro-Ouattara forces marched on Abidjan.
But his camp says he remains in Ivory Coast and will not surrender.
Ouattara's spokesman Patrick Achi told Reuters by phone that Gbagbo's fall was nonetheless imminent.
"Where is he going to go? He doesn't control the army or the gendarmerie. They will be exhausted. They are running out of ammunition," he said. "All their generals have surrendered. They aren't much of a force."
The African Union, former colonial ruler France, the United States, and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon all have called on Gbagbo to step down immediately.
The power struggle pushed cocoa prices higher in recent weeks, but they have tumbled since on expectations exports will soon be freed up.
Ivory Coast's $2.3 billion 2032 bond, on which it defaulted in January, extended gains on Friday, rising more than 3 points to a 3-1/2-month high.
news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110402/wl_nm/us_ivorycoast;_ylt=AkMc9tbqwhIDTvecdjYNsGNvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTJlbXR0bGswBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTEwNDAyL3VzX2l2b3J5Y29hc3QEY3BvcwMzBHBvcwM1BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA2ZpZ2h0aW5ncmFnZQ--

[anansi]

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – Residents barricaded themselves inside their homes Sunday, blanketing windows and pushing furniture against doors as this country on Africa's western coast tensely awaited the final battle between the two men who claim the presidency.
Fighters backing the internationally recognized president, Alassane Ouattara, amassed at a tollbooth on the city's northern edge, preparing for the final assault. Their leader was declared the winner of last November's election, but Ouattara has not been able to assume office because outgoing president Laurent Gbagbo is refusing to yield power.
Water has been cut off to much of Abidjan, and on the empty streets, a handful of women with basins could be seen hurriedly crossing the waterfront highway to reach the lagoon. Men ventured out with plastic bags to scoop up water, holding the bags high in the air to signal to soldiers in firing positions that they were not armed.
Only about 20 miles separates the thousands of pro-Ouattara foot soldiers readying for battle from the lagoonside district where the presidential palace and mansion are located.
A resident of the Cocody neighborhood where the mansion is located said around 700 Gbagbo supporters had gathered at the gates of the compound Sunday, after state television, still controlled by the entrenched ruler, called on the population to form a human shield to protect the presidential palace. The resident, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, said the supporters had been armed with AK-47 assault rifles.
Toussaint Alain, Gbagbo's representative in Europe, told reporters in Paris that Gbagbo is not giving up.
"President Gbagbo, I have said, is at the residence of the head of state, his usual workplace, and he is managing the crisis with teams that have been put into place to deal with this aggression coming from the outside," Alain said. "It's not up to America or France to decide who must lead the Ivory Coast."
The international community has been nearly unanimous in backing Ouattara, whose win with over 54 percent of the vote was confirmed by Ivorian election officials and a 900-strong United Nations observation mission.
In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Gbagbo to step down immediately. She expressed concern about a massacre in the western town of Duekoue, where U.N. investigators said Sunday at least 430 people were killed last week, after pro-Ouattara forces moved in. It's unclear which side committed the killings, with both camps denying responsibility.
In Nairobi, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated the call.
"There has been too much bloodshed," Ban said. "I renew my call on Mr. Gbagbo to step down to avoid further violence and transfer power immediately to the legitimate general candidate president Ouattara."
As the city waited tensely, many people were running out of food. One woman blocked inside her office when the violence erupted said she survived for four days on a pack of diet cookies, a bottle of whiskey and a few cans of soda.
The armed group backing Ouattara began its advance on the city six days ago, taking nearly 80 percent of the country before reaching the perimeter of Abidjan.
Heavy artillery could be heard for days. In neighborhoods near the palace, the explosions were loud enough to make walls shake.
At the Malian Embassy, more than 2,000 Malian nationals have taken refuge after Gbagbo's forces began attacking citizens of neighboring African nations. Mali, like most countries in Africa, has followed the United Nations position, calling on Gbagbo to step down and angering his supporters, who have carried out revenge killings.
"People are sleeping in the basement and in the halls. There's no more room," said Nouhou Diallo, a Malian community leader huddled inside. "The water was cut off yesterday. We're scared to go out but we were so thirsty today that some of us ran across the road to get water from the lagoon."
The United Nations began evacuating 200 employees by helicopter, relocating them in a city in the north controlled by Ouattara.
On Sunday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that he had arranged for all French citizens in Ivory Coast to meet at a single location to guarantee their safety.
Cmdr. Frederic Daguillon, military spokesman for the French base here, confirmed that French forces had occupied the Abidjan airport, in hopes of allowing the return of commercial flights so foreign citizens could be evacuated.
Even if the airport is now secure, however, it was close to impossible to reach.
Troops loyal to the defiant Gbagbo opened fire with automatic weapons on a three-car convoy that attempted to drive through Abidjan on Sunday morning, blasting out the windows and wounding one of the passengers, said driver Ahmed Yoda.
A United Nations armored personnel carrier was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade a day earlier, seriously injuring four peacekeepers.
Even diplomats were stranded. A consular officer living in a diplomatic residence not far from the besieged palace said she filled her bathtub with water and had been using it for washing and drinking for the past three days.
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110403/ap_on_re_af/af_ivory_coast

[anansi]

Ouattara forces seize Ivory Coast president's home

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – Forces trying to install Ivory Coast's democratically elected leader seized the presidential home Tuesday and a senior diplomat said fighters were trying to coax the entrenched strongman out of a bunker.
The diplomat also said that Laurent Gbagbo's closest adviser and longtime friend had abandoned him, leaving the bunker to seek refuge inside the French ambassador's home. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Forces aiming to topple Gbagbo more than four months after he lost the presidential election had succeeded in taking nearly the entire countryside last week. But they faltered once they reached the country's largest city of Abidjan, where the presidential palace and residence are located.
On Monday, the United Nations and French forces opened fire with attack helicopters on Gbagbo's arsenal, as columns of foot soldiers allied with his challenger finally pierced the city limit.
Gbagbo adviser Alcide Djedje, who co-founded Gbagbo's political party and accompanied him to jail decades ago, sought refuge Tuesday at the French ambassador's residence, the senior diplomat confirmed. Djedje had been serving most recently as Gbagbo's foreign minister.
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/af_ivory_coast;_ylt=ArhJdkyM24PLiO0Ei.CryFD9xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTMyaTg4MDdpBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwNDA1L2FmX2l2b3J5X2NvYXN0BGNjb2RlA21wX2VjXzhfMTAEY3BvcwMyBHBvcwMyBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDb3VhdHRhcmFmb3Jj

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A little historical background

Natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron, cobalt, bauxite, copper, and hydropower. There are more foreigners than Ivorians. Foreigners currently make up 67% of the country's population.


Ancient Kingdoms


There were several ancient kingdoms in the Ivory Coast. Many of these Kingdoms were located in the north and south regions of this country.

Since the north was rich in salt they traded some to the south, which had barely any. In return, the south gave the north a good supply of kola nuts.

The Senufo people established the ancient kingdom of Kong in the 11th century. Kong was located in the northern part of the central region of the Ivory Coast. This made it very easy for the north and south to trade. Even though many years have passed since ancient times, Kong is till the main trading center for the north and the south.

There were a few other ancient kingdoms in the Ivory Coast, but there is very little information about them.
leabright.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/ivory-coast-several-ancient-kingdoms/

The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro (French: Basilique de Notre Dame de la Paix de Yamoussoukro) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The basilica was constructed between 1985 and 1989 at a cost of $300 million. The design of the dome and encircled plaza are clearly inspired by those of the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican City, although it is not an outright replica. The cornerstone was laid on August 10, 1985, and it was consecrated on September 10, 1990, by Pope John Paul II.

Contrary to popular belief, this particular basilica is not a cathedral. The nearby Cathedral of Saint Augustine is the principal place of worship and seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Yamoussoukro.

Guinness World Records lists it as the largest church in the world, having surpassed the previous recordholder, St. Peter’s Basilica, upon completion. It has an area of 30,000sq metres (322,917 sq ft) and is 158m (518ft) high. However, it also includes a rectory and a villa (counted in the overall area), which are not strictly part of the church, and it can accommodate 18,000 worshippers, compared to 60,000 for St. Peter’s.

The Basilica is administrated by Polish Pallottines.
seeker401.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/basilica-of-our-lady-of-peace-of-yamoussoukro-ivory-coast/

Why they have foreigners in charge of that complex after spending so much is beyond me a research and development center would have been money well spent.