Peacekeepers control Abidjan airport, French military says UN and French peacekeepers have taken control of Abidjan airport, the French military said Sunday, as clashes in the city continued between forces loyal to rival leaders Alassane Ouattara and incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.
AFP - Peacekeepers have taken control of the airport in Abidjan as forces loyal to the country's rival presidents struggle for control of Ivory Coast's main city, the French military said Sunday.
France has also boosted its Licorne (Unicorn) peacekeeping mission in the cocoa-rich nation by 300 to around 1,400 troops, where part of their mission is to protect foreigners from attacks and looting amid rising insecurity. "Licorne, in coordination with UNOCI (United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire), has taken control of Felix Houphouet-Boigny airport," chief of staff spokesman Colonel Thierry Burkhard told AFP.
"UNOCI and Licorne troops are ensuring security and air traffic control at the airport," Burkhard said.
This allows "civil and military aircraft to land at the airport so that foreigners wishing to leave Ivory Coast can do so," he said, adding that no decision had yet been taken to evacuate foreigners.
About 1,400 foreigners, a third of them French, took shelter Saturday at a Licorne camp in Abidjan.
The streets of Abidjan were deserted Sunday while fighting abated near bastions of strongman Laurent Gbagbo after a four-day assault by rival forces.
Terrified Abidjan residents have been in lockdown since the army of internationally recognised president Alassane Ouattara arrived Thursday after a lightning offensive across the country, seeking to unseat Gbagbo...................>>>>........................>>>>....................http://www.france24.com/en/201.....s-peacekeepers-unoci
Clinton 'Concerned' by Ivory Coast Violence, Calls on Election Loser to Step Down Published April 03, 2011 | FoxNews.com
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, responding to reports that more than 1,000 people were massacred in the western part of Ivory Coast amid a succession battle, said Sunday she is "deeply concerned" about the violence and called on the entrenched incumbent to step down "immediately."
The secretary of state called for order in a nation where post-election abuses have increasingly raised international concern. Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent who lost a November vote, has refused to step down to make way for the internationally recognized President Alassane Ouattara.
But after hundreds were reported dead in a neighborhood controlled by pro-Ouattara forces, Clinton said those loyal to him must respect the rules of war and stop attacks on civilians.
"President Ouattara's troops must live up to the ideals and vision articulated by their elected leader. At the same time, we call on the UN peacekeeping mission to aggressively enforce its mandate to protect civilians," Clinton said. "As President Ouattara takes the reins of government, he must prevent his troops from carrying out reprisals and revenge attacks against their former foes.".........................>>>>..................>>>>..................http://www.foxnews.com/politic.....tep/?test=latestnews
WOW!!!! This administration isn't just trying to take over ONE country......HELL.........they're taking over the entire world!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Hershey bars all around with a disney movie too......but first they must be schooled on obesity and the calorie counts on the wrapper and the 'get up and move for 60minutes' song.....welcome to America
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
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