Latest update: 01/03/2011 

- Ban Ki-moon - Ivory Coast - Laurent Gbagbo - UN Security Council


Gbagbo supporters fire on UN sanctions experts

Forces loyal to Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo Monday opened fire on UN sanctions experts who tried to check-up on a suspected breach of the international arms embargo of the country, a UN source said.

By News Wires (text)
 

AFP - Forces loyal to Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo Monday opened fire on UN sanctions experts who tried to check on a suspected breach of the international arms embargo of the country, a UN source said.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon accused Belarus of breaking the embargo by sending three attack helicopters and other equipment to Gbagbo, who refuses to hand over power to internationally-recognized president Alassane Ouattara. Belarus denied the charges.

Tensions were further heightened when Gbagbo supporters briefly kidnapped two Ukrainian UN workers, the UN said.

The UN leader, who has expressed fears that Ivory Coast could be sliding back into civil war, and US President Barack Obama expressed concern about Ivory Coast at a meeting in Washington.

Ban called on the UN Security Council to meet to discuss the reported arms deliveries. The council's panel of experts on Ivory Coast sanctions met in New York and asked the UN mission for more information to confirm the reported deliveries.

Experts from the UN Ivory Coast sanctions committee and an officer from the UN peacekeeping mission went to Yamoussoukro airport to check on the helicopters, a UN source told AFP.

The group "were forced to withdraw when fired upon" by Gbagbo followers, the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity. No injuries were reported.

The UN secretary-general said one Belarus helicopter reportedly arrived in Ivory Coast on Sunday night and two more were expected Monday.

At about the same time, Gbagbo youth loyalists kidnapped two Ukrainians who work for the UN mission in the country but freed them several hours later, UN officials said.

The two employees were abducted by young Gbagbo supporters near Abidjan's Port Bouet district. The youth group handed them over to Gbagbo's official security forces who released them to the UN, officials said.

Tensions have risen significantly in the west African nation in recent days, with increasing clashes between supporters of Gbagbo and Ouattara.

"This is a serious violation of the embargo against Ivory Coast, which has been in place since 2004," Ban said a statement released by UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.

Ban warned Belarus and Gbagbo that "appropriate action will be taken in response to the violation."

Belarus denied any knowledge of the helicopters. Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Savinykh told AFP: "Belarus has never violated Security Council sanctions" and has an "efficient system to control weapons exports."

Gbagbo's administration rejected the UN weapons claims as a "a lie to justify an attack against the government of president Laurent Gbagbo," spokesman Ahoua Don Mello said.

More than 10,500 UN peacekeepers now operate in Ivory Coast, some protecting Ouattara's headquarters, and the head of the UN mission has said the troops face growing hostility from Gbagbo forces. The strongman's followers shot and wounded three peacekeepers at the weekend.

Ouattara was declared winner of a November 28 presidential election but Gbagbo refused to recognize the result.

A high-level African Union mediation panel is due to give its verdict on the deadlock soon.

 

Comments (5)

Iran

posted on twitter and facebook -- The escalation of political persecution, torture, and murder in Iran now warrant further international condemnation and action with a strong indication that a full blown crisis is now starting to emerge that must be addressed as a United Nations Human right council concern for further debate and action….etc

Africans must Fight the system & the tools

As Africans, Our Enemy number one is the system mulled by the US, the UK and France. Then validate by the UN and launched by the IMF& WB. Their media is their speculators.

Our so-calls African leaders are been used by the west as tools to control and plunder wealth, and I normally call them Autocratic Eunuch-bouncers.

Now, if you use Nero as tool to copy a file, you use camera as tool to keep record, you use computer as tool to facilitate your work, you use the internet as tool to communicate, you use car as tool to take you from place to place, these tools itself have no brains; that is why you manage to use it for your benefit. It follow your instruction and if sometimes does not work, then we say is “abnormal” and the system is corrupt. In fact we don’t say he or she but we say “it”, to make it clearer that it’s an object and it cannot work for its benefit but only is there to serve someone else.

Now that is the situation our leaders are. That is why I call them autocratic Eunuch-bouncers. And they been made like that by the world Economic & political system which engineered by the west, Mainly the US, UK and France.

If you look at the wisdom or the psyche of people like Omar or Ali Bongo, Sani Abach and Obiang Nguema or all Arab autocrats, the more subservient they are is the longer they will continue be Mr untouchable. Those guys had been groomed and then Empowered for nearly centuries, they starve their people, torture and kill them in big numbers, imprison a large number of the rest for no really benefits of their own.

And those leaders plunder trillions of what should be the food for their own people and store it in western Banks, and in western countries for the west to benefit.

When there is no roads in these African countries, people all suffer, even the president. When communication goes down because of the lack of fund or bad managements as usual in these countries, people all suffer even the president use to be shut down. When school was not built, all children grown up uneducated though the tyrants can send their kids to Paris, London and Geneva schools but they will have to miss them and waste so much money. So, on this you can understand that the tool doesn’t really benefits on what they are doing and they have no brains. And all of this is been watch by the UN, Interpol and facilitate by IMF & WB and none of them ever talk or do something serious to end these atrocities.

You and I can be arrest for doing nothing beside been found with no French or UK citizenship in these countries with the full collaboration of the two sides of course, but they can travel from & to both sides with billions of stolen money and very bloody minerals without any question been asked or even visa been demand.

The aims of the control comes from various countries mainly US, UK and France, the UN is there to validate the agendas, but the launch most of the time starts in the headquarters of the IMF & World Bank as Economic hitman.

This is how the world is been run, so the really dictatorship is done by western leaders who still wants keep getting what used to be their divine rights since the 1884 Berlin conference.

Those western agents, working in the western companies, in the African branches but ignorantly we call them presidents or leaders. Sometimes use to be victims of the systems they work with.

If you reread or listen the speeches of Mubarak used to give when his citizens were crying on tahrir square, you could see that he was very far from what they were talking about, he was appearing not even understanding what is their complains, and you can see this even on Gaddafi, they appear uninformed on the situations outside of their offices; so you could ask yourself if this is the WISE leaders who should be representing these millions of citizens for decades.

So my friends and concern Africans; if we are dreamer enough, talent enough and serious enough, then we have to fight the real culprit, that not mean we should let the tool keep working but to embark on the one who is using the tool should be wise idea and meaningful.

To only focus on the tool, it will be like vandalizing something after you got angry or not agree with the user or the owner, and if the owner determines enough to have his thing then he can just bring in or create another one. we saw what happen when the Americans tried to shut down wikileaks, then Julian Assange just went and created thousands of mirrors sites and put his servers in a Banker, and now things gets tougher for the Americans as the information (US Embassy Diplomatic Cables) is now known all over the world and to shut down over 3000 wikileaks sites is mission impossible even if America use atomic bomb. So this is what will happen if we only focus on the Eunuch Ali Bongo or the Saudi tyrants. We must fight the system.

crise politique en cote d'ivoive

Si ban ki moon pense que c'est les soldats de GBAGBO qui attaquent l'onu.Que l'onu quittent la cote d'ivoire c'est simple qu'ils mettent a leurs betises.

ivory coast

the situation back to ivory coast is France because they want to used the country money so this don't like the president Gbagbo is the president we want he win now France keep try to hurt the country that is not right the world is not right .

Protestations

Ban ki Moune que veut-il à la civ? Pendant que ses forces arment Ouattara à prendre illégalement le pouvoir en civ, il se plaint de ce que le Président Gbagbo, en situation de légitime défense se défende? Quelle est cette façon de protéger les peuples?

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