The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General; for Côte d'Ivoire, Mrs Aïchatou Mindaoudou and the Minister in charge of Defence to the President, Paul Koffi Koffi, on Wednesday, 16 April 2014, at the military base in Akouedo, Abidjan, presided over an inauguration ceremony of ammunition storage facilities in Akakro, Akouédo, Bouaké, Daloa, Séguéla and Yamoussoukro.



Speaking at the ceremony, Mrs Mindaoudou said that the provision of the ammunition storage facilities was part of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire's (UNOCI) accompaniment of the national authorities in protecting civilians. In this regard, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) working within UNOCI had therefore ensured the provision of the six storage sites, which are part of a total of 78 buildings rehabilitated or constructed as part of UNMAS' programme at a cost of 2.2 billion FCFA. The aim of the programme is to provide Côte d'Ivoire with ammunition storage facilities which conform to international norms.

"The new magazine stores that are being inaugurated today will provide secure storage for 5.4 million kilogrammes of ammunition. The secure storage of these ammunition means that the dangerous consequences of accidental explosions and uncontroled access to depots can be avoided. These magazine stores will also help in the fight against the proliferation of illicit arms and ammunition," explained the head of UNOCI.



In order to guarantee adequate management and security of ammunition storage, the project will be accompanied by measures to strengthen capacity on management and security of storing ammunition in accordance with international norms, demining, neutralisation of arms and the removal and destruction of unexploded ordnance and the clearing up areas polluted with ammunition.



Speaking on behalf of the Ivorian Government, the Minister in charge of Defence to the President, Paul Koffi Koffi thanked UNOCI for the rehabilitation of four sites and the construction of two other, which he said would reduce the risk of injury both for the army and the population. "This

vast programme responds to exigences of the reform of the security sector (RSS). The Government is committed and we are particularly grateful for the support that you have given us in this regard," he said. Minister Koffi Koffi also paid homage to 15 sappers of the 1st Engineer Battalion in Bouaké who carried out the demining of the arms storage area in Akouédo from July 2013 to the end of February 2014 without any incident. Three of them were decorated as Chevaliers in the Ivorian Order of Merit, while 12 other received the Armed Forces Medal. In addition, Mr. Zana Coulibaly, an UNMAS agent with Halo Trust received a diploma of recognition for his dexterity in demining and the neutralisation and destruction of arms.



The Special Representative then handed over the keys to the magazines stores and equipment to the Gendarmerie, Police and the Forces

républicaines de Côte d'Ivoire. The official delegation then visited the ammunition stores and a photographic exhibition of the different stages of the project.



Colonel Assamoi Djessou, who was a major force in the process was congratulated by the Special Representative, after which he explained how he had contributed to the project. "We did an audit of all the existing sites and then methodically began the work of carrying out provisional storage before proposing the storage sites to UNOCI. It was really UNMAS who was the kingpin and who trained our men in demining," he said.

The Chief of Staff of the Forces Républicaines de Côte d'Ivoire (FRCI), General Soumaïla Bakayoko, expressed his gratitude to UNOCI for providing the magazine stores. "You know only too well that we did not have the infrastructure to store ammunition. Today, thanks to UNOCI and UNMAS, we have acquired storage facilities which means we can store all types of ammunition. This means we can better protect the population," added General Bakayoko.