Find a lasting solution to a conflict between people in M'Bazo and Gnéhiri, two villages situated of Divo : this was the aim of a meeting between representatives of women's associations, youth groups, a group of elders and the respective village chiefs. The reconciliation meeting took place on Monday, 16 September 2013 in Divo, at the initiative of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI).



The encounter included the return of fishing equipment belonging to villagers in M'bazo that had been confiscated by those in Gnéhiri, seven months after serious disagreements between the two villages. Since 19 March 2013, UNOCI has been working to find a solution to resolve a conflict which took place on 21 February 2013, over fishing rights in Boubo river. The Mission supported mediation efforts by the deputy prefects of Divo and Didoko, Mathieu Lago Digbeu and Anne-Marie Ruth Gnalega Brou de Didoko, who are in charge of the two villages.



Under the instructions of an official from Gnéhiri, nine villagers from M'bazo had been held for a whole day and the fishing equipment and mobile phones confiscated. The first attempt at reconciliation undertaken by the two deputy prefects of the villages ended with a clash between people from the two villages, during which five of them were injured.



During the meeting on 16 September, the regional office of UNOCI's Civil Affairs Section recalled the importance of social cohesion and national reconciliation. Messages of peace and reconciliation were read out by the youths, women and the village chiefs of M'bazo and Gnéhiri, before the fishing equipment which had been confiscated were handed over to their rightful owners by an official from Gnéhiri, Kouadja Daniel.



The regional director of the Ministry of Animal Production and Fisheries in the Lôh Djiboua region, Koffi Kouakou Godins, and the departmental director of Water and Forests, Bali Konan Daniel advised the people of both villages to avoid conflict.



At the end of the encounter, the deputy prefects of Didoko and Divo pleaded for forgiveness and a return to social cohesion between the two neighbouring villages. "{The issue of fishing rights should not divide. Do not allow anger to destroy the good relations which you had between you}", he told people from both villages.