UN helicopters fire on Gbagbo forces in Abidjan

Four missiles reported to have been fired at a military base in Abidjan as UN seeks to stop weapons being used to hit civilians United Nations helicopters have launched attacks on president Laurent Gbagbo’s forces in Ivory Coast according to reports. The helicopters fired four missiles at a pro-Gbagbo military camp in the main city of Abidjan, witnesses told Reuters. “We saw two UNOCI (U.N. mission in Ivory Coast) MI-24 helicopters fire missiles on the Akouedo military camp. There was a massive explosion and we can still see the smoke,” one of the witnesses said. The camp is home to three battalions of the Ivorian army. Earlier, sources told the Guardian the UN was looking at the possibility of using helicopters to launch aerial attacks after its base was targeted and 11 of its peacekeepers shot. The UN is focusing on heavy weapons that troops loyal to Gbagbo are using to strike civilians, including BM-21 rocket systems. The international body has no air force of its own, and so there is no question of a full-blown air offensive along the lines of the Libyan conflict. But the UN does have a Ukrainian aviation unit with three Mi-24 attack helicopters, that have already been actively deployed in Ivory Coast. The security council is meeting to discuss the situation.The streets of Abidjan resemble a ghost town as residents, most too terrified to leave their homes, awaited a final battle for power between two rival presidents. There was a lull in fighting as reinforcements fighting for Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised election winner, travelled from his northern stronghold. The UN evacuated 170 civilian staff from Abidjan over the weekend. “We are fast approaching a tipping point,” Choi Young-jin, the UN’s top diplomat in Ivory Coast, told the BBC: “We are planning action, we can no longer condone their [Mr Gbagbo's forces] reckless and mindless attack on civilians and the United Nations blue helmets with heavy weapons.” Choi, whose own office has been hit by sniper fire, added: “We are now in a way under siege, so we cannot go out freely, [they're] targeting us with snipers, it’s a deliberate shoot at United Nations. “For the last few days we have had 11 [peacekeepers] wounded by their gunshots. They are targeting the headquarters, they cut off the water … and we are now in the bunker.” A total of 20 peacekeepers have been injured since the crisis triggered by last November’s disputed election. Choi said the UN’s 9,000 troops did not have a mandate to dislodge Gbagbo but can respond to heavy weapons attacks against the UN or civilians. “We will be using our air assets,” Choi said. “We will be taking action soon.” Thousands of the rebels massed at a toll booth some 20 miles from the centre of Abidjan, which has been a fierce battleground in recent days. Several pickup trucks with mounted machine guns could be seen. The mood was described as surprisingly relaxed and even jovial. Speaking on Sunday on the pro-Ouattara TCI television channel, Ouattara’s prime minister, Guillaume Soro, said their side’s strategy had been to encircle the city, harass Gbagbo’s troops’ positions and gather intelligence on their arsenal. “The situation is now ripe for a lightning offensive,” he said. But in a rare boost for Gbagbo, it was claimed that his top army general had returned to the fold days after deserting. General Phillippe Mangou, his wife and five children left the South African ambassador’s residence in Abidjan after fleeing there last week. Lieutenant Jean-Marc Tago claimed: “The general is with us and has always been with us. Our plan is to defend the institutions of the republic against all its enemies, against the rebels, against the mercenaries, against the [United Nations] and all those who are attacking the institutions of the republic commanded by President Laurent Gbagbo.” A Gbagbo spokesman, Ahoua Don Mello, said on state TV: “Phillipe Mangou met with his fellow soldiers on the ground. But we still don’t know if he is willing to return at the helm of affairs. I don’t have enough information about that.” He added: “I saw him at the residence of the president with his colleagues. He is going to deliver a statement in person.” On Ouattara’s rival TV station, Serges Alla, a journalist, confirmed that Mangou had left the embassy and been picked up by a close collaborator of Gbagbo’s. But the journalist added: “Mangou was forced to leave the South African embassy because some of his relatives were made hostage by diehard supporters of Gbagbo, and Gbagbo militiamen were putting pressure on him, saying they would bomb his village if he doesn’t show himself or doesn’t return to the Gbagbo army.” Despite mass defections, Gbagbo has surprised many observers by fighting back, issuing a call to arms to his supporters, who descended on his residence on Sunday to form a human shield around it. Gbagbo’s spokesman, Abdon George Bayeto, told the BBC that there is an international plot against the incumbent. “When it comes to a fight we are going to put up a fight,” he said. “The president is not going to step down.” The UN has raised concerns about the possible involvement of fighters linked to Ouattara’s forces in hundreds of killings in the west of the country – something the Ouattara camp denies. France is sending an extra 150 soldiers from Gabon to Ivory Coast to help protect civilians, a spokesman for the armed forces said. The soldiers’ deployment brings the number of French troops in Ivory Coast to 1,650. In Britain, foreign secretary William Hague said a team is on standby to assist in an evacuation of European Union nationals if the situation in the Ivory Coast deteriorates. Hague said: “We call for an end to the violence, for defeated former president Gbagbo to step down, for all human rights abuses to be investigated and for the International Criminal Court to investigate the crimes which appear to have taken place.” Hague added that Gbagbo’s supporters in the African Union were “down to zero”, but he understood there was no prospect of African military intervention. Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo Alassane Ouattara United Nations Ed Pilkington David Smith guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 4, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.