Highlights

-Participants in NIGERBATT meeting vow to cut crime in Korhogo
-UNOCI Military Observers denied permission to carry out embargo inspection.
-BENINBATT provides security escort for returning IDPs
-Brobo villagers erect checkpoint following MORBATT's departure

Security

Participants in a meeting held by NIGERBATT to discuss the security situation in Korhogo yesterday agreed to collaborate with each other in order to reduce criminal activities in the area. The meeting was attended by the Forces Nouvelles (FN) Zone Commander, military observers and UN Police as well as members of the Force Licorne. Shortly after this meeting, UNOCI peacekeepers prevented a bicycle theft near NIGERBATT's camp and handed the culprit over to the FN police in Korhogo.

Residents of Botifla near Séguéla yesterday told a UNOCI patrol that almost every night a group of 3 to 4 persons, armed with AK-47 rifles, come to the village to demand money from them. The villagers claim that the criminals have even forcibly taken away motorbikes from people. The villagers could not identify the culprits but reported that they were often dressed in civilian clothes and wore military boots. A lack of identity cards is also another problem villagers complained about - only about 30% of them have ID cards.

UNOCI peacekeepers in Sector East reported this morning that a Self-Defence Committee set up by villagers in Brobo has erected a checkpoint to the west of the village. There have been concerns over security in this region of the former Zone of Confidence, and to the south of Brobo where a number of robberies had been carried out by road bandits. The Self-Defence Committee stated that since UNOCI's checkpoint was dismantled on 15 September 2007, they needed to put in place some security measures of their own.

Military

UNOCI's Sector East Commander, Brigadier General Tariq Javed this morning met with General Soumaila Bakayoko, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Forces Nouvelles at the Mission's sector HQ in Bouake. The meeting is the second of a weekly get-together requested by the Sector East Commander when he took command in August 2007. Among the issues discussed by the two generals were security problems in
Korhogo and providing security for the mobile courts which are due to start on 25th September 2007.
UNOCI's Deputy Force Commander Brigadier-General Elhadji Mouhamadou Kandji will arrive in Bouaké tonight for a one day visit. He is due to hold meetings with military personnel in Sector East. He also met with military personnel at the Mission's Sector West headquarters in Daloa yesterday.

A Military Observer (Milob) patrol assigned to conduct an arms embargo inspection to Boroguhé in the Daloa area was yesterday informed by the village chief that there were no members of the Gendarmerie or Police deployed in the area. According to the Team Site database and a fax received from the Defence and Security Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (FDSCI), prior to the inspection, there was supposed to be 20 Gendarmerie and Police elements deployed in the area. Following the failed inspection, the team recommended to FHQ to submit a request to FDSCI commandment for an update of data regarding deployments of their units around the country in order to provide team sites with credible and real information.

Meanwhile on the same day, Milobs from Teamsite Man successfully carried out an arms embargo inspection at "Unit CMDR Koonan", during which BANBATT provided security. In Abidjan however, Milobs accompanied by a TOGOBATT security escort were denied permission to conduct a similar inspection at the Camp de la Garde Republicaine de Treicheville.

TOGOBATT yesterday provided escort and protection to Forces Nouvelles personnel from Tiebiessou to Abidjan, while MORBATT carried out a joint night patrol with UNPOL in Bouaké last night.
Reconciliation
The Political Affairs Officer based in Bouaké will today address a group of young people from five countries on reconciliation and post conflict societies. The students, who are participating in seminar on "Tolerance, Peace and National Reconstruction" come from Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire and the United States of America. The lecture will take place at a primary school in Djebonoua village.

Return of IDPs

Up to 800 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) yesterday returned to their homes in the Zéaglo village, near Guiglo. BENINBATT provided security for the operation, which was coordinated by UNCHR and International Organisation of Migrations (IOM). Returning IDPs included Ivorians from other regions of the country, as well as people from Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali.
BENINBATT also provided security escort for 275 internally displaced families (about 1486 persons) from NICLA Camp in Guiglo who were transported back to their farms in Blolequin.

Human Rights

The Regional Human Rights Office in Abidjan participated in a Working Group on Sexual Violence. The WG aimed to establish a mechanism to address sexual abuses as well as to strengthen the capacity of actors. In addition, an advocacy methodology for better protection of victims was presented and strategies to involve the community in the fight against sexual violence were discussed.
The Regional Human Rights Office in San Pedro and the Rule of Law Unit recently conducted a training session for 14 penitentiary agents of the Maison d'Arrêt et Correction in Sassandra (about 70 km from San Pedro). The training focused on security in prisons, detainees' rights, the administration of penitentiary personnel and the prohibition of torture.