ABIDJAN – Seven women have been killed in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital Abidjan, as security forces opened fire on a rally to protest against violence in their neighbourhood, according to a local opposition spokesman.
The women gathered at a traffic circle in Abobo at 10am to call for an end to the violence that has rocked the city, said Ahmed Coulibaly. His opposition group, RHDP, supports Alassane Ouattara.
“Two armoured vehicles from the army and several pick-up trucks arrived and after a little while they opened fire without any warning.”
Mr Coulibaly, who said he witnessed the incident, said six women were killed on the spot and one died on the way to hospital.
Fighting in Abobo broke out after an armed group that calls itself the Liberation Movement for the Population of Abobo-Anyama claimed an attack on army officers on February 22nd.
Residents said the armed group appeared to have taken control of a large part of Abobo, which is neighboured by Anyama. More than 200,000 residents of Abobo have fled the fighting, according to the United Nations.
At least 26 people were killed in the area and 365 people have died across the West African nation following a disputed election on November 28th, the UN’s mission in the country said in a statement.
Mr Ouattara is the internationally recognised winner of the vote. Incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo, who retains the loyalty of the security forces, refuses to cede power, alleging voter fraud in parts of the country’s north.
Residents of Abobo, who voted about 59 per cent in favour of Mr Ouattara, said they had to burn bodies of people killed in fighting after they were left lying on the streets, with emergency aid unavailable.
“We had to burn some of the corpses because it’s a health risk to have them in the neighbourhood,” said resident Idrissa Kone. “We are cut off from electricity and drinking water and there is no medical help in this area.”
Brussels-based International Crisis Group, meanwhile, has said Ivory Coast is “on the verge of a new civil war”. The country was left split between a government-controlled south and a rebel-held north following an earlier civil conflict in 2002-2003.
“The most likely scenario is an armed conflict involving massive violence against civilians that could provoke unilateral military intervention by neighbours,” said Gilles Yabi, the group’s West Africa project director. – (Bloomberg)