Additional French peacekeepers were sent to the Ivory Coast this week as a battle has been erupting within the town of Abidjan. The battle seems to be between fighters who are loyal to President Alassane Ouattara and fighters who are loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, who has been refusing to leave office. Gbagbo's fighters have not agreed with the French surveying the skies and attempting peace and therefore have been targeting international french journalists and preventing them from leaving their hotel where they have been staying. In the attempt to leave the hotel to get water, many french journalists have been targeted and killed by Gbagbo's forces along with the massacre of many civilians made by the forces of President Ouattara. The United Nations originally had a mandate of 7,500 troops surveying the situation, but the U.N. has now take about 200 of its troops out of the area in order to maintain their own safety. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has spoken out to Gbagbo ordering him to step down immediately as well as calling upon the forces of President Ouattara to respect the rules and guidelines of war and stop the massacres of innocent civilians immediately. The massacre occurred between Monday and Wednesday of this week and so far 320 bodies have been identified, but the total number of deaths is much higher.
To read more click here: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/03/ivory.coast.unrest/index.html
Heather Krizka
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