Obama Regrets UN, French Military Action in Cote d’ Ivoire, Posted by Meosha Eaton

By Williams Ekanem for MACTV News

President Barack Obama on Tuesday reacted over the military action by the United Nations and French forces in Cote  d’Ivoire regretting that “the violence that we are seeing could have been averted had Laurent Gbagbo respected the results of last year’s presidential election.”

In a statement made available to MAC.TV, President Obama said that "the people of Cote D’Ivoire have suffered too much throughout this period of unrest,” and pointed out that, “to end this violence and prevent more bloodshed, former President Gbagbo must stand down immediately, and direct those who are fighting on his behalf to lay down their arms."

According to the President of the United States, to end this violence and prevent more bloodshed, former President Gbagbo must stand down immediately, and direct those who are fighting on his behalf to lay down their arms.

While commending Quattara’s pledge to ensure accountability for those who have carried out attacks against civilians, Obama the United States will continue to support a future in which Laurent Gbagbo stands down, and President Outarra and the government of Cote D’Ivoire can move beyond this current crisis and serve all of the Ivorian people. 

 According to the President, the United States joins with the international community in our deep concern about reports of massacres in the western region of the country, and the dangers faced by innocent civilians – particularly the most vulnerable, and all parties must show restraint and respect the rights of the Ivorian people.

 French and UN soldiers were engaged in operations in Abidjan Monday to "neutralize" weapons used against civilians by fighters for Côte d’Ivoire strongman Laurent Gbagbo, the French government said.

Under the auspices of UN Security Council resolution 1975, the troops "have engaged in actions aimed at neutralizing heavy arms used against civilians and UN personnel in Abidjan," said a presidency statement.

The objectives of the military action was not outlined in further detail.

"The secretary general of the United Nations, [Ban Ki-moon] requested the support of French forces in these operations," said the statement.

"The president of the [French] Republic [Nicolas Sarkozy] responded positively to this request, and authorized French forces... to participate in operations conducted by ONUCI (the UN mission in Ivory Coast) aimed at protecting civilians."

"France calls for the immediate cessation of all violence against civilians. The perpetrators of these crimes must be brought to justice," said the presidency.

MACTV NEWS

Gbagbo negotiating exit from Ivory Coast, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Gbagbo negotiating exit, spokesman says

* France says crisis over in hours

* Fighting in Abidjan eases after days of heavy firing

* Gbagbo troops to surrender arms to UN

(Adds Gbagbo troops to surrender arms to UN, Gbagbo spox)

By Tim Cocks and Ange Aboa

ABIDJAN, April 5 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo was negotiating the terms of his departure from power on Tuesday following a fierce assault by forces loyal to his presidential rival backed by U.N. and French helicopter airstrikes.

France said it expected a swift exit by Gbagbo, who had clung to power since refusing to concede he lost last November's presidential election to Alassane Ouattara, plunging the world's top cocoa-growing nation into renewed civil war.

"We are on the brink of convincing him to leave power," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told parliament in Paris.

A Gbagbo spokesman said the incumbent was negotiating the terms of his departure based on the recognition of Ouattara as president. The spokesman said the negotiations covered security guarantees for Gbagbo and his relatives.

"If everything goes well, we will have a declaration soon," Ahoua Don Mello told Reuters.

Ouattara was said to be Abidjan, with some media reports saying he was in a bunker below his residence.

Gbagbo's forces called for a ceasefire after being comprehensively outgunned in the end, and French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said the West African country's crisis could soon be over.

"We are in a situation where everything could be resolved in the next few hours," Longuet told a news conference.

U.S. President Barack Obama called on Gbagbo to stand down immediately and order his fighters to lay down their arms.

The United Nations mission in the country said Gbagbo's army chiefs had asked their men surrender their arms to U.N. forces and seek protection.

Over the past week, forces loyal to Ouattara had launched a major assault on Gbagbo's last strongholds in Abidjan, driving home their campaign to oust him.

A Reuters eyewitness said on Tuesday that calm had returned to the area surrounding the presidential palace after days of fierce machinegun and heavy weapons fire.

The U.N. peacekeeping force in Ivory Coast, supported by the French military, had targeted Gbagbo's heavy weapons capabilities on Monday with attack helicopters after civilians were killed in shelling.

Attacks centred on military bases in the city, but also on rocket launchers "very close" to Gbagbo's Cocody residence, U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said on Monday. "It looks like Gbagbo is trying to negotiate his way out. What he can offer is another matter ... his negotiating position is much weaker than a couple of weeks ago," said Hannah Koep, Ivory Coast analyst at London-based consultancy Control Risks.

The conflict pushed cocoa prices lower on Tuesday as dealers bet on a swift end to Gbagbo's rule and a resumption of exports. The country's defaulted $2.3 billion Eurobond rose as the assault raised expectations for repayment.

FINAL ASSAULT

In the north of Abidjan, bullet-riddled bodies lay by the side of the main motorway near the largely pro-Gbagbo neighbourhood of Yopougon, evidence of recent fighting between Ouattara and Gbagbo forces, a Reuters witness said.

An armoured personnel carrier was pushed across the roadway, still in flames, and residents who had emerged from their houses to find water said they had heard machinegun and heavy weapons fire through the night.

The United Nations human rights office in Geneva on Tuesday expressed concern over the killings of dozens of civilians in Abidjan, amid reports of heavy weapons used in populated areas.

Gbagbo has defied international pressure to give up the presidency after an election last November that U.N.-certified results showed Ouattara won, rejecting the results as fraudulent and accusing the United Nations of bias.

More than 1,500 people are reported to have died in the standoff that has rekindled the country's 2002-3 civil war, though the real toll is likely much higher.

Several thousand pro-Ouattara fighters had entered Abidjan from the north on Monday in a convoy of transporters, pick-ups mounted with machineguns, and 4x4s loaded with fighters bearing AK-47s and rocket launchers -- in a "final assault".

(Additional reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly and Mark John in Abidjan, Carolyn Cohn in London, and John Irish, Catherine Bremer and Vicky Buffery in Paris; Writing by Richard Valdmanis and Bate Felix; editing by Giles Elgood)

Frenchman found dead in Ivory Coast capital, Posted by Meosha Eaton

PARIS, April 1 (Reuters) - A Frenchman was found dead in a hotel in the Ivory Coast capital as fighting intensified between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo and rival presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara, a French foreign ministry source said.

The unidentified man's body was found in a hotel room in Yamoussoukro.

"A French compatriot was shot dead and we are looking to establish the circumstances surrounding his death," the source said.

He declined to identify the man and could not confirm the death was linked to recent violence over the contested Nov. 28 election result. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Louise Ireland

France says Ivory Coast's Gbagbo must stand down, Posted by Meosha Eaton

PARIS, April 1 (Reuters) - France said on Friday Ivory Coast presidential claimant Laurent Gbagbo must stand down at once, end violence and hand over power to rival Alassane Ouattara.

"It is urgent to bring a definitive end to the crisis triggered by Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to recognise his defeat," President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said in a statement after Sarkozy met key ministers to discuss the crisis in Ivory Coast. (Reporting by Marc Angrand; editing by Andrew Dobbie)

MACTV News: France says G8 will seek agreement on Libya action, Posted by Menelik Zeleke

March 14, 2011 1:02:12 PM

PARIS, March 14 (Reuters) - Group of Eight foreign ministers will try to agree in Paris on what action should be taken in Libya, to speed up a U.N. Security Council decision on whether to impose a no-fly zone, France said on Monday.

The current G8 president, France said Libya would be a priority during talks on Monday and Tuesday between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

With violence worsening, "no option could be ruled out", foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told an electronic press briefing as Muammar Gaddafi's troops battled rebel fighters for control of the oil town of Brega.

"The conclusions from the March 11 European summit and the Arab League's March 12 resolution clearly demonstrate the international community's firm commitment to protecting Libyan civilians," Valero said.
"This issue will be discussed as a priority at the foreign minister's meeting with his G8 counterparts with the aim of reaching an agreement that will enable the Security Council, which has received an official request from the Arab League, to move forward as fast as possible."

The Arab League's weekend call for a U.N. no-fly zone seemed to satisfy one of three conditions set by NATO for it to police Libyan air space, that of regional support. The other two are proof its help is needed and a U.N. Security Council resolution. (Reporting by Vicky Buffery; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Ivorian troops fire to disperse anti-Gbagbo protest, Posted by Meosha Eaton

As reported by Reuters:

* Ouattara calls for mass protests to oust incumbent
* Abobo often scene of violent clashes with security forces
* One wounded, Lebanese department store attacked (adds one wounded, Lebanese store looted)

By Loucoumane Coulibaly

ABIDJAN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Ivorian security forces fired live bullets and teargas on Saturday to disperse protesters in Abidjan calling for incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo to step down, wounding at least one of them, witnesses said.

His rival, Alassane Ouattara, has called for Egypt-style mass protests to oust Gbagbo, who has refused to step down as leader of the world's top cocoa grower after a Nov. 28 presidential election that U.N.-certified results show Ouattara won. Witnesses said hundreds of youths gathered in Abobo, a pro-Ouattara area of the main commercial city Abidjan, but soldiers and police dispersed them. Abobo has often been the scene of violent clashes between security forces and civilians.

"The ... youths started assembling at the roundabout this morning. The security forces came in armoured vehicles and fired teargas and bullets into the air," said Tieba Doumbia, 30, who owns a small shop nearby.
A teargas grenade landed in a local market, forcing dozens of women to flee, he said. There was no immediate comment from the military or police.

At least one protester was shot and wounded by a soldier, witness Idrissa Diarrassouba said. He also said protesters looted a large department store owned by a Lebanese businessmen seen as close to Gbagbo.
There are tens of thousands of Lebanese in Ivory Coast, running everything from small shops to huge export businesses. Many are seen as pro-Gbagbo and Lebanon's ambassador was one of only two to go to his swearing in. They are rarely targeted. The army imposed a night-time curfew across the country this weekend that will be lifted at 0600 GMT on Sunday.

Gbagbo has defied widespread international condemnation and Western sanctions by clinging to power, with backing from a legal body that overturned Ouattara's win and the military, which has crushed dissent.
West Africa's central bank has cut him off, triggering a liquidity crisis that has forced international banks to close their Ivorian operations. Gbagbo decreed this week that the main ones are to be forcibly nationalised and re-opened on Monday.

Paramilitary forces loyal to Gbagbo killed at least six civilians in Abobo last week. At least 300 people have been killed in violence since the disputed election, mostly Ouattara supporters killed by pro-Gbagbo forces, the United Nations says. "A military vehicle drove towards the protesters. They fired in the air to disperse them. I didn't see any deaths for the moment," said witness Ladgi Traore, 28, a newspaper seller.

(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Writing by Tim Cocks; editing by Tim Pearce)