Ouattara Forces Advance in Abidjan; Massacre Leaves 800 Dead (Muslim troops massacre Christians)

http://www.businessweek.com ^ | April 4, 2011 | By Olivier Monnier, Pauline Bax and Franz Wild

[Jackson57]

Obama contemplating sending troops. Oh wait, did it say CHRISTIANS being killed? Oh, nevermind ... /sarc

[denydenydeny]

''inter-communal violence,''

Destined to rank with the great mass-murder euphemisms like the infamous Nazi phrase "special treatment."

[Maelstorm]

The North is predominently Muslim as is the aggressor supported by the UN. The cuurent President is a Christian and the South is predomently Christian.

[UnwashedPeasant]

Religions of the Ivory Coast as of 2008:
38.6% Islam
32.8% Christianity
11.9% African indigenous
16.7% None

source: Wikipedia and Wikipedia

[Wuli]

ping

[Soothesayer]

They need to stop martyring their own families. There is nothing even remotely holy about that.

I find it hard to believe that they can’t find a firearm in barbaric Muslim society. Come on!

[GAB-1955]

No, we’re supporting the president who was elected by the Ivorians against the warlord who refuses to leave after he was voted out of office. This has little to do with religious affiliation and more like “who gets the public treasury.”

[UnwashedPeasant]

Background notes from Wikipedia for the "2010-2011 Ivorian Crisis":

The presidential election of 2010 had two rounds. The top two candidates in round one were then the only candidates on the ballot for round 2 (held 11/28/2010), which is a disputed vote.

INCUMBANT: Laurent Gbagbo

• Roman Catholic with support in the Christian south
• history professor
• PhD from Paris Diderot University
• political prisoner (1971 to 1973)
• Elected president in 2000 (as part of a popular revolt to overthrow the leader that took over in the December 1999 military coup)
• Survived a 2002 coup attempt that led to civil war between the north and south from 2002 until 2004 (or as late as 2007 when it officially ended). The French supported the northern rebels.

CHALLENGER: former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara

• Muslim with support in the Muslim north
• BS from Drexel University, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1965)
• graduate of University of Pennsylvania (1972)
• economist for the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. (1968 to 1973)
• Prime Minister of the Ivory Coast (1990 to 1993)
• barred from 1995 presidential election because one parent was foreign born
• continued working at International Monetary Fund until 1999
• In 1999, he provided (apparently forged) documentation that both parents were born in the Ivory Coast.
• Returned to the Ivory Coast after a December 1999 military coup, but in 2000, he was again barred from the presidential election because of foreign-born parentage
• In 2007, incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo declared that Ouattara was eligible for the next presidential election (2010).

DISPUTED ELECTION:

• Laurent Gbagbo's presidency would have ended in 2005, but the UN (etc.) agreed to him staying in office because free elections were impossible because of the civil war.
• The Independent Electoral Commission (part of the Ivory Coast government) declared Alassane Ouattara the winner with 54% of the vote.
• The Constitutional Council disqualified votes from areas of alledged voter fraud and declared Laurent Gbagbo the winner with 51% of the vote.
• Both candidates had a swearing in and claim to be the president.
• The "international community" (UN, EU, African Union, Economic Community of West African States, US, France, Nigeria) favors the Muslim Alassane Ouattara
• Major incidents of violence appear to be the result of attackers from the north (loyal to the Muslim Alassane Ouattara) conquering territory held by forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo. See article: Second Ivorian Civil War

[AfricanChristian]

As an African Christian living in West Africa I can assure you that this is nothing more than a classical battle between two African “big men”.

Gbagbo has conned many people in the US into believing that he is some sort of model christian. He is a thug, responsible for the deaths of thousands of Ivoriens.

We’ve seen this nonsense before in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. This is no different, let no one deceive you.

[AfricanChristian]

George Bush didn’t do much for christians in Iraq and Afghanistan either.

[Fred Nerks]

thanks for that very informative comment and map.