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

FORCES loyal to president-elect Alassane Ouattara have advanced into Ivory Coast's commercial capital Abidjan, as aid agencies said at least 800 people were killed in a massacre outside the city.

The Republican Forces control more than 90 per cent of Abidjan, said militia spokesman Meite Sindou yesterday. Gunfire continued in the Plateau district, the site of the presidential palace.

The Red Cross said the massacre took place in the western town of Duekoue as Mr Ouattara's troops moved towards Abidjan to try to oust incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo. Advertisement: Story continues below

The massacre occurred on March 29 and is a result of ''inter-communal violence,'' Red Cross spokeswoman Dorothea Krimitsas said from Geneva yesterday.

About 1000 people died or disappeared in the town between March 27 and March 29 and the humanitarian situation in Ivory Coast was rapidly deteriorating, the aid group Caritas said on its website.

Another Red Cross spokesman, Kelnor Panglung, said lots of people were dead in the streets of Duekoue.

''It's truly horrific. We don't have any information about the authors of these killings,'' he said. The United Nations, the US and the African Union are calling on Mr Gbagbo, 65, to hand power over to Mr Ouattara, 69, whom they recognise as the winner of the nation's presidential election last November.

Mr Gbagbo refuses to accept defeat and, having seized the country's main television station, issued a final call to arms.

On Saturday, a dishevelled TV announcer addressed the nation saying Mr Gbagbo was at his residence and that it had not been attacked.

The camera shook and soldiers could be seen milling on the set as they called on police, military, customs officers, coast guard and forest rangers to report for duty to protect the embattled ruler.

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

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.

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