Côte d'Ivoire: UN urges government to protect civilians from forced displacement
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) decried the continuing expulsion of thousands of people - mostly West African nationals and Ivoirians native to other areas of the country - from villages and rural areas in the western part of Côte d'Ivoire.
According to OCHA, the region has been particularly affected by the armed conflict and inter-community clashes that have torn apart the social fabric and called into question the peaceful atmosphere that has existed for years between the local, ethnic and foreign communities.
"During this moment, in which confidence building and reconciliation constitute prerequisites for a return of displaced populations to their places of habitual residences, humanitarian agencies are issuing an alert aimed at halting the expulsions…which are likely to revive interethnic and community tensions," OCHA said. The expulsions aggravate the already critical humanitarian situation in the west, because the hamper or even prevent adequate distribution of food aid and other humanitarian relief, it added.
OCHA said that humanitarian agencies and military forces in western Côte d'Ivoire noted that local authorities and traditional chiefs in some communities had handed down the ultimatums that sparked the flight. The expulsions were accompanied by threats and harassment from small bands of unidentified youths.
"It is the Ivoirian State, in this instance, that is responsible for protecting its own civilians as well as foreign nationals living in Côte d'Ivoire, and in particular for taking action to avoid their unlawful displacement," OCHA said, adding that perpetrators of violent acts or incitement of violence against these populations are responsible for the actions before national and international laws.