U.S. Warns Of Violence In Côte d’Ivoire

Ivorian President Ouattara

The security situation in Côte d’Ivoire could quickly deteriorate despite recent security gains, the U.S. State Department has warned.  According to the U.S. State Department, the country’s April 2013 municipal and regional elections were relatively peaceful and security forces were able to address limited outbreaks of violence on their own.

"Although the security situation significantly improved in 2013, security conditions can change quickly and without warning," the State Department’s warning read.

Ivorian conflict has straddled the border with neighboring Liberia at times, observed the United States. U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter met in Washington with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Also, U.S. forces are to end a training mission for Liberian forces in December.

"The U.S.-Liberian military-to-military relationship will remain strong, shifting from tactical-level training to strategic-level training and institutional development," the Defense Department said.

Côte d’Ivoire was pushed to the brink of civil following contested elections in 2010. The post election violence which erupted in Côte d’Ivoire following the November 28, 2010 presidential run-off triggered a mass exodus of Ivorians crossing into Liberia to escape the fighting in their homeland. The world’s largest cocoa producing nation had been torn apart since 2002 when a failed coup d’état resulted into an armed rebellion.  The country remained balkanized, with the New Forces rebels (now Republican Forces) controlling northern territories and the government of former president Laurent Gbagbo controlling the Southern territories.

The little over 11,000 peacekeeping troops of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) served as a major lifesaver when the armed rebellion first broke, by serving as a buffer between rebel-held North and government-controlled South, as a conflict containment strategy. National elections were postponed on numerous occasions due, principally to the failure of the rebels to disarm. However, in an attempt to reunite the country and foster development, Ivorians went to the poll in October 2010 to elect a new president. When there was no clear winner in the first round, they returned to the ballot box on November 28 but the result of that run-off election created further turmoil and disorder in the nation.

There had been mix-reactions over the role of the UN in the Ivorian crisis. However, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was clear on this in his address at the January 29, 2011 AU summit held in Addis-Ababa (Ethiopia). He recalled that when then-President Gbagbo's term in office expired in 2005, the Ivorian parties agreed that elections were central to the process of restoring normality to their country. The framework was essentially provided by the 2005 Pretoria Agreements under the auspices of former South African President Thabo Mbeki, and the 2007 Ouagadougou Agreement under the auspices of Burkinabe President Blaise Compaoré. He said the certification [of results] mandate of the United Nations was created voluntarily by the Ivorians themselves to guarantee the credibility of the elections. Nothing, he added, was imposed on the parties: Not by the UN, nor by the AU, ECOWAS or any other partner.

But Gbagbo refused to accept defeat of the election certified by the UN and to cede power to opposition leader, Alassane Ouattara, the man internationally recognized as the winner of the election. He also questioned the credibility of actors in the process including the UN, France, AU and ECOWAS. The two claimants (Gbagbo and Ouattara) to the presidency sworn themselves into office and, for four months, were acting as rival presidents at different locations in Abidjan, the Ivoirian capital, creating more hardship and humanitarian catastrophe for millions of Ivoirians. The situation took a dramatic turn on April 11, 2011 when Gbagbo was captured by Ouattara fighters assisted by the French and UN forces, authorized by the UN Security Council.

The former Ivorian leader is now awaiting trial at The Hague for crimes allegedly committed in the post-election violence. Human rights groups say supporters of President Alassane Ouattara may have played a role in crimes as well.