Ivory Coast defeats Gbagbo resistance

Supporters of deposed president had mounted last stand in Abidjan, as prime minister describes streets littered with bodies Government forces in Ivory Coast claim they have destroyed the last pockets of resistance from fighters loyal to the country’s deposed president. A dwindling band of Laurent Gbagbo supporters had made a last stand in Yopougon , a district of Abidjan, three weeks after he was prised from his bunker and arrested. But president Alassane Ouattara’s army said it now controls the whole of the city. Chérif Ousmane, the commander in charge of Wednesday’s operation, told Ouattara’s TCI television that Yopougon was “the only area that remained, and the entire district is now definitively occupied by us”. The final battles came at a heavy cost. The prime minister, Guillaume Soro, who had visited the scene, told the same TV channel: “I saw streets littered with bodies. At the militia headquarters we saw an improvised cemetery. “I can imagine the slaughter that took place. I’m still under shock after seeing all these dead, all these bodies.” Red Cross officials said residents of Yopougon had told them of a mass grave of about 30 bodies buried in a field where children used to play football. Franck Kodjo of the Red Cross, wiping tears from his eyes, told Reuters: “This land will never be used by youth, will never again be suitable for children’s games. It is a cemetery in the middle of the neighbourhood.” Red Cross workers have collected nearly 70 corpses since Tuesday from the streets of Yopougon, where many of the pro-Gbagbo gunmen were mercenaries from neighbouring Liberia. Residents said food and water were in short supply after pillaging and heavy fighting left shops and infrastructure in disarray. Stephane Bedjra, who lives with his wife and two children, said: “The situation was terrible. There were militants who terrorised us. “They were armed and they did whatever they wanted. We lived like this until the arrival of the FRCI [government army], who chased them from the area.” Gbagbo refused to cede power after a November election that he lost to Ouattara, sparking open conflict that killed more than 3,000 people and displaced a million – reopening the wounds of a 2002-03 civil war. Gbagbo was arrested on 11 April at the presidential residence in Abidjan and is being detained at a villa in the north of the country. The Swiss government says it has identified assets worth 70m Swiss francs (£50m) linked to Gbagbo which were blocked in January. In the west of the country, many families displaced by the fighting are still living and sleeping out in the open and lack access to clean drinking water. Save the Children has warned that thousands of children living without shelter face a health “catastrophe” as the rainy season approaches. Ivory Coast Alassane Ouattara Laurent Gbagbo David Smith guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 5, 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.