Posted on 03/03/2011 3:06:51 PM PST by smokingfrog
Soldiers backing Ivory Coast's defiant leader mowed down women protesting his refusal to leave power in a hail of gunfire on Thursday, killing at least six and shocking a nation where women's marches have historically been used as a last resort against an unrestrained army.
Because the president's security force has shown almost no reserve in opening fire on unarmed civilians, the women decided this week to organize the march in the nation's commercial capital, assuming soldiers would be too ashamed to open fire.
But at least six of the thousands of women demonstrating Thursday were killed on the spot, said Mohamed Dosso, an assistant to the mayor of Abobo who said he saw the bodies.
The three-month old conflict in Ivory Coast has entered a new level of intensity. With each passing day, the regime of Laurent Gbagbo is proving it is willing to go to any length to stay in office following an election that international observers say he lost.
Sirah Drane, 41, who helped organize the march, said she was holding the megaphone and preparing to address the large crowd that had gathered at a traffic circle in Abobo.
"That's when we saw the tanks," she said. "There were thousands of women. And we said to ourselves, 'They won't shoot at women.' ... I heard a boom. They started spraying us. ... I tried to run and fell down. The others trampled me. Opening fire on unarmed women? It's inconceivable."
The attack prompted an immediate rebuke from the U.S., which like most governments has urged Gbagbo to step down and has recognized his rival as the country's legitimate president.
"The moral bankruptcy of Laurent Gbagbo is evident as his security forces killed women protesters," said U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley in a Twitter message.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Key word being unarmed. Never give up your guns.
Key word being unarmed. Never give up your guns.
Deserves to be stated twice!
“Laurent Gbagbo”
Hey! Gbagbo is my middle name!
Joking aside,,, this is disgusting! Someone needs to give Laurent a third eye.
Lady what makes you so special, oh, you found out different. Crazy!!!!
I doubt this story. The bumper sticker said: World Peace 1.20.09.
Gbagbo is mainly supported by the largely Christian south, his opponent by the largely Muslim north.
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