Highlights

-Roadside bandits fire shots at UNOCI patrol
-UNOCI organizes forum in Soubre
-Human Rights Division organizes training for Forces Nouvelles soldiers

Security

A Military Observer patrol travelling from Dikodougou to Korhogo was fired on by roadside bandits on 1st March 2008. Nobody was injured in the shooting incident and a NIGERBATT quick reaction force escorted the patrol back to Korhogo..

One person was killed and another one injured during clashes between Gendarmes and residents in Bédiala, near Daloa. The problem was sparked off by the death of a 30-year-old man on 27 February 2008 whose bicycle was later found at the local Gendarmerie camp. After the discovery of the bicycle, villagers cordoned off and attacked the camp accusing the gendarmes of having killed the man. In order to disperse the mob, the gendarmes fired a few rounds hitting two of the demonstrators. The Gendarmerie left the Bédiala Camp after the incident. A UNOCI patrol which was sent to the site to investigate, found one live round of ammunition which is now with UNPOL in Bonoufla. The situation is presently under control.

Residents of Gnonplé and Goueupleu near Danané in western Côte d'Ivoire have complained that the Armed Forces of Forces Nouvelles (FAFN) soldiers posted in the villages have been demanding between 1,000 to 5,000 FCFA from each person who passes their checkpoint, especially on market days. The FAFN soldiers also allegedly go into the two villages every month to collect 1,000 FCFA from each local trader and to take goods from their shops without paying.

A patrol sent to Divo (Centre-west) was told by local administration officials that the planned presence of UNOCI in the region is good news but the information about the mission's role in Côte d'Ivoire is not well publicized in the Divo area.

Information and sensitization

The Public Information Office organized a forum with civil society in the southern city of Soubre on 1st March 2008. Some 2000 people, including women, traditional leaders and young people, participated in the event. During discussions with representatives from the Mission, they complained of not receiving ONUCI-FM radio in their city. They were assured by the Chief of Public Information, Margherita Amodeo, who led the UNOCI delegation, that a transmitter would soon be installed in Soubre. Workshops involving members of youth and women's organizations, as well as traditional chiefs, were organized by the Mission on the eve of the forum, in an attempt to identify their specific issues.

Human Rights

A training session on international human rights practices and procedures was organized by the Human Rights Division from Daloa for 60 members of the FAFN in Seguela from 28 - 29 February 2008.

The relatives of a man whose body was found in bushes near Baléko village, some 50 km from San Pedro, on 19 February 2008, have told the Human Rights Division that he was summarily executed by members of the Sassandra Gendarmerie Brigade. According to the relatives, the gendarmes accused the deceased of being part of a gang of highwaymen involved in the killing of a truck driver earlier in the month. The relatives also alleged that four other men, who were also accused of being part of the same gang, were also killed. The Human Rights Office and UNPOL in San Pedro are investigating the case.

The Human Rights Office in Odienné and the local UNICEF office on 26 February 2008, organized a human rights training for 15 members of the Executive Committee of the Human Rights Club and six members of staff of the Madinani Municipal College, situated 80 km east of Odienné. During the session, participants indicated that forced marriages and children dropping out of school to work on farms were major human rights challenges in the region. To address the above issues, the local human rights club with the assistance of the human rights office will organize a human rights awareness-raising campaign aimed at parents and guardians in the area.