ABIDJAN, COTE D’IVOIRE— The UN peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire has called for all parties to show restraint and to remain calm amidst reports of violent clashes, which have now reached the perimeters of the U.S. Embassy in the African country.
Côte d’Ivoire has been thrust into political uncertainty after the incumbent president refused to concede electoral defeat recently. The UN, however, has endorsed the victory of opposition leader and President-elect Alassane Ouattara, despite outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo’s claim to have won.
Known by the acronym UNOCI, the UN mission reports that heavy fighting broke out on Thursday between elements of the Forces Nouvelles and the Forces de défense et de sécurité, which have reinforced their checkpoints on the main passages to the Golf Hotel in Abidjan where President-elect Ouattara has been based since the November 28 run-off presidential elections.
