[Shadow_Group] | South African leaders launch urgent peace talks on a crisis, which threatens to destabilise West Africa

[shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca]

Chaos in Ivory Coast: Several women were raped
01:56 2004-11-12

FROM:
http://newsfromrussia.com/accidents/2004/11/12/57089.html<http://newsfromrussia.com/accidents/2004/11/12/57089.html>
French, US and British airliners help hundreds of
foreigners to leave the Ivory Coast while South
African leaders launch urgent peace talks on a crisis,
which threatens to destabilise West Africa. 

Residents in the commercial capital, meanwhile, stared
hopelessly at the burned-out wreckage of their shops
and offices as a measure of calm returned to Abidjan
after five days of anti-foreigner mob violence. 

France and other nations launched the evacuations on
Wednesday. 
Convoys sent out by the US Embassy and other nations
gathered foreigners from their homes while French
soldiers in boats plucked some trapped citizens from
the banks of Abidjan's lagoons. 

A French official has said between 4,000 to 8,000 of
its 14,000 citizens wanted to leave, a number that
alone would make it one of the largest evacuations of
Africa's post-independence era, informs The Age. 

According to Reuters, a number of European women were
raped during days of chaotic mob violence in Ivory
Coast's main city Abidjan, the French forces
organising the evacuation of hundreds of foreigners
said on Thursday. 

"It is confirmed. The facts have been checked and we
won't make any comment because it is so serious,"
French army spokesman Henry Aussavy said. 

Foreigners awaiting evacuation at United Nations and
French military bases in Abidjan said they had heard
reports that at least three women, including one
eastern European and one French national, had been
raped during the chaos. 

"We gave our clothes to two women (at a U.N. base) ...
They told us they had been raped," Annick Marcellesi,
a 49-year-old French woman, told Reuters. 

"After 23 years in Ivory Coast, I have 60 kilograms of
luggage and a dog," said a Belgian businessman as he
boarded a plane to leave. 

French President Jacques Chirac has demanded President
Gbago rein in his supporters who are blamed for the
anti-foreigner violence. 

The northern half of the former French colony has been
without electricity and running water since last week.
It's believed authorities have cut power to rebel-held
areas of the north, says CBC News.



Homepage (as of NOV-01-2002):
http://www.SeattleActivist.org<http://www.seattleactivist.org/>


 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/shadowgroup-l/attachments/20041111/95f328b2/attachment.html>