![]() ![]() ![]() Ouattara last week recognised the 2002-2003 rebels as his military and renamed them the Ivory Coast Republican Forces (FRCI). “It’s a serious threat to the stability of Liberia, and I might say to the stability of all neighbouring countries,” says, adding that “the crisis in Ivory Coast slipped off the radar,” given the focus on recent events in Japan, Libya and the wider Arab world. Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, whose country is hosting some 90,000 Ivorian refugees, said that Ivory Coast is already “at war” and that the tensions will further destabilise a region that has struggled with bloody conflict for many years. Human rights groups claim atrocities have been committed by both sides. According to the United Nations, at least 435 people have been killed and as many as 450,000 have fled their homes since the political crisis began. He is backed by rebel forces, whom he has adopted as his army. His rival, Alassane Ouattara, is recognised by the international community as the rightful winner of the election and legitimate president of Ivory Coast. Thousands of supporters answered his call. He contests that result and has called on the country’s youth to join him in taking up arms. Laurent Gbagbo remains the de facto leader of Ivory Coast despite finishing second in the November 28 presidential elections. As the world’s attention is focused elsewhere, the power struggle in Ivory Coast has escalated and now threatens a region-wide humanitarian crisis.
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