The Second Ivorian Civil War broke out in March 2011 when the
crisis in
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
escalated into full-scale military conflict between forces loyal to
, the President of Ivory Coast since 2000, and supporters of the internationally recognised president-elect
Alassane Ouattara. After months of unsuccessful negotiations and sporadic violence between supporters of the two sides, the crisis entered a critical stage as Ouattara's forces seized control of most of the country with the help of the UN, with Gbagbo entrenched in
Abidjan
Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...
, the country's largest city. International organizations have reported numerous instances of human rights violations by both sides, in particular in the city of
Duékoué
Duékoué () is a city in western Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Duékoué Department. It is also the seat of Guémon Region in Montagnes District and a commune. In the 2021 census, the population of the sub-prefecture ...
where Ouattara's forces killed hundreds of people. Overall casualties of the war are estimated around 3000. The UN and French forces took military action, with the stated objective to protect their
forces and civilians. France's forces arrested Gbagbo at his residence on 11 April 2011.
Background
A
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
was fought in Ivory Coast between 2002 and 2004 between the incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo and the rebel
Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire (New Forces), representing Muslim northerners who felt that they were being discriminated against by the politically dominant and mostly Christian southerners.
In 2002 France sent its troops to Ivory Coast (
Opération Licorne
Opération Licorne was a French Armed Forces peacekeeping operation in support of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire. The French forces had been stationed in the country since shortly after the outbreak of the Ivorian Civil War. The ...
) as
peacekeepers. In February 2004 the United Nations established the
United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) "to facilitate the implementation by the Ivorian parties of the peace agreement signed by them in January 2003".
Most of the fighting ended by late 2004, with the country split between a rebel-held north and a government-held south. In March 2007 the two sides signed an agreement to hold fresh elections, though they ended up being delayed until 2010, five years after Gbagbo's term of office was supposed to have expired.
After northern candidate Alassane Ouattara was declared the victor of the
2010 Ivorian presidential election by the country's Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), the President of the
Constitutional Council – an ally of Gbagbo – declared the results to be invalid and that Gbagbo was the winner. Both Gbagbo and Ouattara claimed victory and took the presidential
oath of office.
The international community, including the United Nations, the
African Union, the
Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...
(ECOWAS), the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
, the United States, and former colonial power France affirmed their support for Ouattara, who was "almost universally acknowledged to have defeated
bagboat the ballot box," and called for Gbagbo to step down.
On 18 December, Gbagbo ordered all UN
peacekeepers to leave the country. The UN refused and the
UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN Mission in Ivory Coast until 30 June 2011. However, negotiations to resolve the dispute failed to achieve any satisfactory outcome. Hundreds of people were killed in escalating violence between pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara partisans and at least a million people fled, mostly from Abidjan.
Conflict
After the disputed election, sporadic outbreaks of violence took place, particularly in Abidjan, where supporters of Ouattara clashed repeatedly with government forces and militias. Gbagbo's forces were said to be responsible for a campaign of assassinations, beatings and abductions directed against Ouattara's supporters.
The violence escalated through March 2011 with a number of incidents in Abidjan in which dozens of people were reported killed. In one of the deadliest single incidents, up to 30 people were killed on 17 March in a rocket attack on a pro-Ouattara suburb of Abidjan. The UN issued a statement saying that the shelling was "an act, perpetrated against civilians,
hatcould constitute a
crime against humanity."
52 people were killed in further violence in Abidjan Between 21 and 26 March.
Fighting also broke out in western Ivory Coast at the end of February 2011. On 25 February, the New Forces captured the towns of Zouan Hounien and Binhouye near the border with
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...
and took control of nearby
Toulepleu on 7 March. The town of
Doké
Doké is a town in western Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of Bloléquin Department in Cavally Region
Cavally Region is one of the 31 regions of Ivory Coast. From its establishment in 2011, to 2014 it was in Montagnes District. The seat of th ...
fell on 12 March as the New Forces pushed on towards
Bloléquin
Bloléquin is a town in western Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Bloléquin Department in Cavally Region
Cavally Region is one of the 31 regions of Ivory Coast. From its establishment in 2011, to 2014 it was in Montagnes Dis ...
, which they took on 21 March after heavy fighting.
On 28 March, the New Forces – now renamed the
Republican Forces of Côte d'Ivoire
The Armed Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (french: Forces Armées de Cote d'Ivoire; "FACI")
are the armed forces of Ivory Coast.
History
The Ivorian military has its roots in the colonial armed forces of French West Africa, which were headquartered ...
(RFCI) – launched a full-scale offensive across the country. Ouattara issued a statement declaring: "All the peaceful routes to lead Laurent Gbagbo to admit his defeat have been exhausted." The towns of
Duékoué
Duékoué () is a city in western Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Duékoué Department. It is also the seat of Guémon Region in Montagnes District and a commune. In the 2021 census, the population of the sub-prefecture ...
and
Daloa in the west of the country were captured by the RFCI, as were Bondoukou and
Abengourou near the border with
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
in the east. On 30 March, Ivory Coast's political capital
Yamoussoukro and the western town of
Soubré were taken without resistance. The port city of
San Pédro, the world's largest
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
exporting port, fell to the RFCI in the early hours of 31 March as did the nearby coastal town of
Sassandra. On the same day Ivory Coast's borders with neighbouring countries were ordered to be sealed by Ouattara's forces.
On 30 March
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975, adopted unanimously on March 30, 2011, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), including resolutions 1572 (2004), 1893 (2009), 1911 (2010), 1924 (2010 ...
was issued which, in particular, urged all Ivorian parties to respect the will of the people and the election of Alassane Ouattara as President of Ivory Coast, as recognised by ECOWAS, the African Union and the rest of the international community and reiterated that
UNOCI could use "all necessary measures" in its mandate to protect civilians under imminent threat of attack.
The fighting was reported to have caused heavy damage in some contested towns, from which the inhabitants were said to have fled ''en masse''. Large numbers of people were said to have found dead after Ouattara's forces took control of the central Ivorian towns; in Duékoué alone, over 800 people were reported to have been killed, according to the
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signa ...
, though responsibility for the massacres was unclear. Ouattara's government stated that numerous mass graves had been found in "Toulepleu, Bloléquin and Guiglo, whose authors are none other than the loyal forces, mercenaries and militias of Laurent Gbagbo."
However, the United Nations blamed the RFCI for many of the deaths.
Battle of Abidjan

In Abidjan, heavy fighting broke out on 31 March as pro-Ouattara forces advanced on the city from several directions. Residents reported seeing the RFCI forces entering the city in "a convoy of 2,000–3,000 people on foot and then dozens of cars without their headlights on."
Ouattara declared a three-day curfew in Abidjan from 2100 GMT to 0600 GMT.
The United Nations peacekeepers took control of Abidjan's airport when Gbagbo's forces abandoned it, and Gbagbo's elite forces were reported to be surrounding the presidential residence. United Nations and French forces were also reported to be carrying out protective security operations in the city. The UN peacekeeping mission said its headquarters were fired on by Gbagbo's special forces on 31 March, and returned fire in an exchange lasting about three hours. UN convoys have also come under attack by Gbagbo loyalists four times since 31 March, with three peacekeepers injured in one of the attacks. The peacekeepers had exchanged fire with Gbagbo loyalists in several parts of the city. Around 500 foreign nationals took refuge at the French base at Port-Bouët, near the airport.
Ouattara appealed to Gbagbo's men to lay down their arms, promising that Gbagbo himself would come to no harm, and issued a statement: "There is still time to join your brothers. The country is calling you."
Many of them defected or gave up without a fight,
including the army chief of staff General
Phillippe Mangou
Philippe Mangou (born 26 January 1952) was the head of the armed forces of Ivory Coast from 2004 until 2011.
Biography
He studied law at the University of Cocody-Abidjan. In November 2004, Laurent Gbagbo made him ''Chef d'État Major des Armées ...
, who took refuge in the South African ambassador's house, and the head of the military police, General Tiape Kassarate, who defected to Ouattara's side. Despite belligerent language from Gbagbo's side, most of his forces appear to have decided not to fight – a decision attributed by some commentators to "the historically unwarrior-like nature of the Ivorian army" and the effect of sanctions on Gbagbo's ability to pay his forces.
Military sources said that an estimated 50,000 members of the gendarmerie and armed forces had deserted, with only some 2,000 Gbagbo loyalists remaining behind to fight.
The fighting in Abidjan has been concentrated in two areas in the suburb of
Cocody – around the state television building, which went off the air on the evening of 31 March, and around the residence of Laurent Gbagbo, where pro-Gbagbo Republican Guard members and armed students were said to be putting up strong resistance. Gunfire and shelling was also reported around the presidential palace in the central Plateau district of the city.
Fighting also broke out in the Treichville district, where Gbagbo's Republican Guard was defending the city's main bridges, and around the gendarmerie base at Agban.
On 2 April heavy fighting was around the Agban military base and the presidential palace.
State television station RTI appeared to be back under the control of Gbagbo supporters after being briefly taken off air. Many residents of Abidjan reported that supplies of food were becoming limited, with the violence making it dangerous to leave buildings to buy more.
Also on 2 April,
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
told the
BBC that "
this time, I strongly urge Mr Gbagbo to step down and transfer power to the legitimately elected president... Mr Ouattara."
On 4 April, non-military United Nations personnel began to be evacuated from Abidjan and hundreds of additional French troops landed in the Abidjan airport. UN and French helicopters also began firing on pro-Gbagbo military installations, a French military spokesman said the attacks were aimed at heavy artillery and armoured vehicles.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing two UN
Mi-24P attack helicopters firing missiles at the Akouédo military camp in Abidjan. UN helicopters were flown by
Ukrainian Ground Forces crews seconded to the United Nations. The attacks sparked protests by a Gbagbo spokesperson, who said that such actions were "illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable."
UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
defended the actions, however, saying that "the
Nmission has taken this action in self-defence and to protect civilians."
He noted that Gbagbo's forces had fired on United Nations patrols and attacked the organization's headquarters in Abidjan "with heavy-caliber sniper fire as well as mortars and rocket-propelled grenades", wounding four peacekeepers.
On 4 April General
Phillippe Mangou
Philippe Mangou (born 26 January 1952) was the head of the armed forces of Ivory Coast from 2004 until 2011.
Biography
He studied law at the University of Cocody-Abidjan. In November 2004, Laurent Gbagbo made him ''Chef d'État Major des Armées ...
left the South African ambassador's residence in Abidjan and rejoined the government forces. On Ouattara's TV station, Serges Alla, a journalist claimed: "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."
Early on 5 April 2011, Ouattara forces announced that they had captured the presidential palace. The same day General
Philippe Mangou
Philippe Mangou (born 26 January 1952) was the head of the armed forces of Ivory Coast from 2004 until 2011.
Biography
He studied law at the University of Cocody-Abidjan. In November 2004, Laurent Gbagbo made him ''Chef d'État Major des Armées ...
, the military chief of Laurent Gbagbo, called for a ceasefire.
Following calls for ceasefire by Gbagbo's military officials, it was reported that fighting has ceased in Abidjan.
Special UN representative
Choi Young-jin
Choi Young-jin (Hangul: 최영진, ''Choe Yeongjin''; born 29 March 1948) is a South Korean career diplomat who served as South Korean Ambassador to the United States from 2012–2013, when he was succeeded by Ahn Ho-young.
He is also the form ...
stated that all Gbagbo's top generals had defected and that "the war is over".
Gbagbo had been negotiating a surrender; French Foreign Minister
Alain Juppe said that they were close to convincing Gbagbo to leave power. The ECOWAS bloc promised a "safe and dignified exit" for Gbagbo and his family if he conceded the election, handing power over to Ouattara. However, forces loyal to Ouattara moved to seize Gbagbo at his residence in Abidjan on 6 April 2011, after the negotiations failed.
French forces were said to have destroyed several military vehicles belonging to troops loyal to Laurent Gbagbo during a helicopter-borne mission that rescued Japan's ambassador, Yoshifumi Okamura, during heavy fighting in
Abidjan
Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...
during the morning of 7 April.
On 8 April pro-Ouattara forces continued to besiege Gbagbo in his residence. Ouattara said a blockade had been set up around the perimeter to make the district safe for residents. He said his forces would wait for Gbagbo to run out of food and water. However, Paris-based adviser Toussaint Alain to Gbagbo said that Gbagbo would not surrender.
Also on this day, Gbagbo forces using heavy weaponry such as rockets, grenade launchers and tanks were reported to have resumed fighting in Abidjan, taking control of the Plateau and
Cocody areas of the city.
On 9 April, pro-Gbagbo forces were reported to have fired on the Golf Hotel, where Ouattara was located.
The attackers reportedly used both sniper rifles and mortars; in response, UN peacekeepers fired on them.
Gbagbo's forces were reported to have pushed Ouattara's forces back, retaking control of the Plateau and Cocody districts of Abidjan.
The following day, United Nations and French forces carried out further air strikes against Gbagbo's remaining heavy weapons, using
Mi-24 and
Aérospatiale Gazelle attack helicopters. The attack was reported to have caused heavy damage to the presidential palace.
Arrest of Gbagbo
On 11 April, Ouattara's forces stormed Gbagbo's residence and arrested him. The final assault was assisted by French forces using helicopters and armoured vehicles, although the actual capture was made by Ouattara's troops. There have been persistent rumors that French special forces blew up a wall blocking a tunnel between the French Embassy and Gbagbo's residence in Abidjan; Ivorian forces loyal to Ouattara then rushed through the tunnel into the house and arrest him. Gbagbo, his wife, son and about 50 members of his entourage were captured unharmed and were taken to the Golf Hotel, Ouattara's headquarters, where they were placed under United Nations guard.
Killing of civilians
Duékoué massacre
Unknown attackers wielding machetes and various guns were reported to have killed over 1,000 civilians in a neighbourhood of the town of
Duékoué
Duékoué () is a city in western Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Duékoué Department. It is also the seat of Guémon Region in Montagnes District and a commune. In the 2021 census, the population of the sub-prefecture ...
, which was largely controlled by forces fighting to install the internationally recognized president according to the Catholic charity
Caritas. The U.N. mission in Ivory Coast said it has a team investigating the alleged mass killings in the west of the town.
[Charity: More than 1,000 killed in Ivorian town]
/ref> The U.N. said forces of both Ouattara and Gbagbo were involved in the killings. On the 4th Caritas repeated its claims that 800 to 1,000 had been killed in the Duékoué massacre. The nation's general descent into violence had frightened both the foreigners and Caritas aid workers.
According to Guillaume N'Gefa, spokesman for the UN mission in Ivory Coast, 330 people had been killed in Duékoué as Ouattara's forces took over the town, More than 100 of them were killed by Gbagbo's troops. However, N'Gefa said the majority were executed by dozos
The Dozo (also Donzo, Bambara for ''hunter'', pl. donzow) are traditional hunters in northern Côte d'Ivoire, southeast Mali, and Burkina Faso, and members of a co-fraternity containing initiated hunters and sons of Dozo, called a ''Donzo Ton'' ...
, traditional hunters who support Ouattara.
N'Gefa said a UN team was still investigating and those figures were likely to rise. Earlier the International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signa ...
(ICRC) said at least 800 died, while Caritas put the figure at more than 1,000. ICRC staff who visited Duékoué said the scale and brutality of the killings were shocking. Tens of thousands had fled Duékoué since 28 March.
On 7 April Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said its team had found 15 new bodies, bringing the total number of known dead in a 28–29 March incident to 244. Victims mostly or all of Guere ethnicity, traditional Gbagbo supporters. Some seem to have been burnt alive and some corpses were thrown down a well.
In addition to the issue of the presidency, the root cause of the massacre was believed to be over cocoa land and farming rights. The Guere are the traditional land-owners of the region; but migrant workers perform much of the manual labor on cocoa plantations. The two have a historic dispute over the rights to the farmland.
Blolequin and Guiglo massacres
On 7 April Rupert Colville said that 40 bodies were found in Blolequin, where perpetrators were said to have been Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...
n militias, who spared the Guere after separating them out from other groups. In Guiglo 60 bodies were found, including a number of West Africans.
International reaction
* On 8 March, Leymah Gbowee issued a statement of support for the peaceful protests of the Christian and Muslim women in the Ivory Coast and compared them to the women of Liberia.
* Nigerian Foreign Minister Henry Odein Ajumogobia
Henry Odein Ajumogobia (born 29 June 1956) is a Nigerian lawyer who served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources between 2007 and 2009 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from April 2010 to July 2011.
He was also Head of Nigeria's delegation ...
accused the international community
The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world.
As a rhetorical term
Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is t ...
of "contradictions" by imposing a no-fly zone over Libya and focusing on the 2011 Libyan civil war
The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Lib ...
, but failing to take action to protect civilians in the Ivory Coast.
* On 23 March, at the ECOWAS Summit, Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...
urged the United Nations to pass a resolution to take decisive action, saying instability posed a threat to security in West Africa.
* On 23 March, the "One Thousand Women March" was organized by peace activists in West Africa. They wore white T-shirts and represented countries across West Africa including Ivory Coast, Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
and Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its ...
. They issued a press release and presented a position statement to the ECOWAS Heads of State.
* On 30 March, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975, adopted unanimously on March 30, 2011, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), including resolutions 1572 (2004), 1893 (2009), 1911 (2010), 1924 (2010 ...
was adopted unanimously, demanding that Laurent Gbagbo step down as president and allow internationally recognised President Alassane Ouattara to take power. The resolution imposed sanctions on Gbagbo and his close associates. The resolution was sponsored by France and Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...
.
* Ivory Coast received more attention and obtained more consensus by the United Nations Security Council than any other country from 2009 to 2011.
Criticism
*Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
n Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia intended to look into the legitimacy of the use of force by UN peacekeepers. The position of the Russian government was that any foreign interference would only lead to increasing violence.
Refugees
According to the United Nations, due to the continuing violence more than 100,000 people have fled the country to neighbouring Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...
. At Old Pohan, a Liberian settlement next to the thickets that extend to the border, refugees greatly outnumbered the local population, and more were arriving all the time. President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said in an interview that "it’s a serious threat to the stability of Liberia and, I might say, to the stability of all neighboring countries". Seeking to move the Ivorians away from border settlements, the United Nations has opened a camp about 25 miles inside Liberia. Refugees are also starting to cross in significant numbers into Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
.
According to UK shadow international development minister Mark Lazarowicz
Mark Lazarowicz ( ; born Marek Lazarowicz; 8 August 1953) is a British Labour Co-operative politician and lawyer who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh North and Leith from 2001 to 2015.
Early life
Lazarowicz was born in Romfo ...
, the UN aid programmes for Ivory Cost and Liberia are "grossly underfunded".
Although many thousands of Ivorians remain in Liberia, convoys of Ivorian refugees – each convoy containing a few hundred people – have begun heading home, frequently finding their communities still in tatters from the conflict. Ivorian officials have blamed deadly attacks launched from Liberia that targeted Ivorian border towns in 2012 on former militia fighters that remain loyal to Gbagbo and now live in refugee camps in Liberia.
In addition to refugees in Liberia, a significant number of displaced Ivorians stayed in camps throughout western Ivory Coast. The largest was in the Catholic Mission in Duékoué, where at one point church officials estimated 28,000 displaced were staying each night. The displaced persons ultimately were relocated from the Catholic Mission to the Nahibly camp on the outskirts of Duékoué. The camp was burned down by attackers in July 2012, killing 7 and chasing about 5,000 people from their temporary homes.
Mercenaries
General Gueu Michel, the commander of Ouattara's forces in western Ivory Coast, said that Liberian mercenaries were fighting on the side of Laurent Gbagbo. Liberian and United Nations officials said the general was correct to suspect Liberian mercenaries of crossing into Ivory Coast to help Gbagbo stay in power. Harrison S. Karnwea Sr., Liberia's interior minister said, however, that both sides were recruiting Liberian mercenaries.
Impact on foreign nationals
By 2 April 1,400 French and other foreign nationals (900 of whom were Lebanese
Lebanese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic
* Lebanese people
The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...
citizens) entered the French peacekeepers' camp close to the Abidjan Airport
Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...
. The Lebanese president, U.N. officials and French commanders provided assistance to facilitate the departure of the Lebanese, French and African nationals who wish to leave the Ivory Coast. The French army formally took over the running of Abidjan airport on the 4th in order to evacuate foreign citizens living in the Ivory Coast. Evacuations took place on the 5th and 6th.
Fiscal effects
Ivory Coast's now defaulted $2,300,000,000 debt bond rose 1.2 points on the 6th to a new four-month high, a possible sign of increased investor confidence that Ouattara would take office and resume payments.
See also
* Impact of the Arab Spring
Notes
Bibliography
*
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Ivorian Civil War
Conflicts in 2011
2011 in Ivory Coast
2010s civil wars
Civil wars post-1945
Wars involving France
Responsibility to protect
Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Africa
Wars involving the states and peoples of Africa