Highlight

·       
Sector East Commander Meets with
Chief of Staff of FAFN;

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Displaced persons return to
western locality.

ONUCI-FAFN Consultations

ONUCI Sector East Force Commander, Brigadier General Iqbal Zafar and General
Soumaila Bakayoko, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Forces Nouvelles (FAFN),
met yesterday in Bouaké to exchange views about the strengthening of the working
relationship between the two military forces. Various aspects of the
collaboration between the FAFN and the ONUCI Force were reviewed in order to
promote closer cooperation. General Zafar also visited the team of military
observers in Bouaké to discuss matters related to their working agenda and in
particular to pre-election activities. General Zafar recommended that they
continue to exercise vigilance to in the performance of their duties.

Security

UNOCI continues to observe
hotbeds of insecurity around the country. UNOCI security witnessed a carjacking
in central Abidjan yesterday afternoon, while three armed robberies involving
various sums of money were reported in villages around the western town of
Bangolo. UN military observers and police reported that one villager was wounded
and another killed in these attacks. It was also reported that women were raped
in another incident. In another western location, Douembly, it was reported
that, two days  ago, an FAFN soldier attacked the owner of a motorcycle and
stole the machine, a cellular phone and one million CFA. Ivorian military
authorities from both the FAFN and the Defence and Security Forces of Cote
d'Ivoire (FDS-CI) have announced that they have beefed up their patrols and
presence in various hot spots around the country.

Demobilized soldiers

The payment of "soap allowances" by the Office for the Coordination of the
Demobilization of former FAFN soldiers, which began last week in Bouaké, is said
to be facing a slow down due to treasury constraints. The allowance, which
amounts to 10.000 CFA per person, is a special bonus intended to help
demobilized soldiers meet their end-of-year expenditures. It is believed that
about half of the total number of beneficiaries have so far been given the
allowance.

Humanitarian Assistance

ONUCI contingents continue their on-going humanitarian
assistance for the local population. In Sector East, the battalions from
Bangladesh, Ghana, Niger and Pakistan gave free medical care to 424 civilians
yesterday. In Sector West, the battalions from Bangladesh, Benin, Morocco and
Senegal gave free medical assistance to 139 civilians and drinking water to 290.
In Abidjan, the Togolese battalion gave medical care to 14 Ivoirians.

Human Rights

In a meeting on 30 December with UNOCI human
rights officers in the western town of Duekoué, the prefect of the department of
Blolequin, Mr Gnonsekan Martin, confirmed that internally displaced persons (IDPs)
who had found refuge in the premises of the sous-prefecture of Zéaglo,
had returned safely to their homes. The former IDPs are settlers from outside
the region who had fled their homes in Zéaglo following the outbreak of armed
conflict six years ago. Animosity between the returning IDPs and host
communities, mainly from the Guéré ethnic group, had been fuelled by disputes
over the ownership and exploitation of limited land resources. These incidents
led to various abuses against settlers   in several villages located in the
western region of Moyen Cavally

Ends