Ivory Coast Spiraling Violence

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And now we go to our coverage of the political crisis in Ivory Coast. The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator says the residents of Ivory Coast are witnessing terrible violence including executions and kidnappings. Here's more.




The United Nations is warning of an increasing humanitarian crisis in Ivory Coast, with reports of hundreds of executions and kidnappings.

[Valerie Amos, U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator]:
"People are immensely traumatized. They have witnessed terrible violence and many have been directly targeted. Women told me stories of witnessing their husbands being executed. Hundreds of children have been separated from their parents, and women and girls have allegedly been kidnapped."

Describing her visit to Ivory Coast and Liberia as 'deeply troubling', Amos said initial investigations had revealed that hundreds of people have been executed.

Amos praised the Liberian government for its role in assisting refugees from Ivory Coast, but added that relief efforts had only 26 per cent of the money needed. She calls on the international community to help.

[Valerie Amos, U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator]:
"With more money, we can deliver more food, provide shelter, offer better medical treatment to those who are sick and much more. And I'm concerned that when the rainy season starts, which is not too far away, getting the aid in is going to be even more difficult than it is now, because there are serious logistical and transport problems."

Amos says she hopes the international community will respond quickly.

[Valerie Amos, U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator]:




"The events of the last week are a wake-up call to the international community, that if we are serious about preserving the hard-won peace and stability that have prevailed in West Africa in recent years, we must address what is happening now. There must be no impunity for the perpetrators of these terrible crimes."

On Thursday, U.N. peacekeepers surrounded the "last defenders" of Ivory Coast incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo, after a week of heavy fighting to unseat him.

Forces loyal to rival presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara have been waging an offensive to topple Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power after losing last November's election to Ouattara.

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