UN relief official warns fighting in Côte d'Ivoire threatens regional stability

The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, Kenzo Oshima, today warned that the worsening fighting in Côte d’Ivoire threatens the stability of the entire region.

Since the beginning of the crisis on 19 September, escalating clashes between government and rebel forces have caused some 100,000 people to flee the country and have slowed economic trade in what is already one of the world’s poorest areas.

Fighting in Danané, Touba, Man and Toulepleu has made the delivery of humanitarian assistance almost impossible, and reports – including news of the discovery of mass graves near Vavoua and Bouaké – suggest that “flagrant violations of international humanitarian and human rights law have occurred,” Mr. Oshima said in a statement released in New York.

Mr. Oshima also reminded combatants of their obligations to protect civilians in situations of armed conflict, and called on all parties to work with the international community to ensure the prompt delivery of humanitarian aid "to all people in need safely and without impediment."

"Those responsible for blatant violations of international humanitarian law must be held accountable," he declared.

Meanwhile, the UN Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, Kamel Morjane, today arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on the first leg of a six-day trip to West Africa that will focus on the humanitarian crisis. He is scheduled to also visit Liberia, Ghana and Togo.

On Wednesday, UNHCR sent a team to western Ivorian town of Guglio to re-establish contact with some 45,000 refugees stranded by the recent outbreak in fighting.