French getting pulled deeper into Ivory Coast civil war
Image via WikipediaThe country is not working right now. The UN and the French jumped in when it looked like Gbagbo might win and they are now under attack. The Sunday Telegraph reports that the British embassy was being evacuated after it too was fired upon.The battle for Abidjan escalated last night as forces loyal to international pariah Laurent Gbagbo fired on the French ambassador's residence.
It was unclear if there had been any casualties, but French military sources vowed a "strong response". Attack helicopters were seen leaving the French base soon after the mortar and rocket attack, which was the strongest attempt yet by Mr Gbagbo to force former colonial power France into a fight which would rally Ivorian nationalists.
Claims from the UN that Gbagbo's forces had regained the highly important areas of Plateau and Cocody were unconfirmed. A spokesman for the French forces refused to discuss what he called rumours, with Major Frederic Daguillon making only the enigmatic comment: "The helicopters have gone up and their engines are working just fine." However, it became clear that previous air strikes by the UN and France aimed at Gbagbo's heavy weapons failed to destroy all of them.
Earlier in the day, residents of Abidjan emerged from their hiding places to find themselves in a city living through a striking reversal of fortune. Where the challenger Alassane Ouattara was confined for months to the Golf Hotel complex surrounded by the Ivorian army, yesterday it was his rival Mr Gbagbo who was cut off from the outside world, under siege in his bunker. While many had expected a bloody final confrontation and Mr Gbagbo was being talked of as a possible martyr, the President-elect Mr Ouattara has decided to wait out his opponent. "We are waiting for the rat [Mr Gbagbo] to leave its hole," said a spokesman for the man recognised by much of the rest of the world as Ivory Coast's legitimate leader.
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So far, Obama is staying out of this civil war even though the sides have piled up an impressive death count.
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