Is The War Over In Cote d’Ivoire?

The June 2012 killing of seven United Nations peace keepers in Western Cote d’Ivoire, triggered an alarm that suggests all is not yet well with the country. The killing of the seven Nigerian peace keepers drew international condemination.

Although a measure of stability has been restored in Abidjan, the economic capital, the story is different in the outskirts and hinterlands.

Even before the killing of the peace keepers, killings of civilians and sacking of villages have remained regular occurrences. The Ivorian government blamed the attacks on Liberian mercenaries, accusing them of crossing the borders to unleash mayhem. In response, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and the UN forces strengthened security along the borders.

However, some residents in the Western part of the country, pointed fingers at the Ivorian Republican Force (FRCI) for being responsible for insecurity in the zone.

Boem Mazim, an Ivorian refugee in Liberia, who returned in December 2011, said the FRCI could not be trusted.

“We cannot trust the FRCI here because we know they were behind many of the killings, rape and burning of some villages”, he said.

Ironically, the FRCI, a patchwork of former rebels now turned into the national army, provides the bulk of security men in the zone.

Some residents in the western region have turned migrants for fear of attacks. The residents constantly flee their homes for fear of attacks and return after a while to attend to their farms.

UNHCR Country Director, Ann Encontre, says about 69, 000 Ivorians still reside in Liberia, citing insecurity as the major reason why they fled and have refused to come back.

She says that more than 140, 000 have already returned to the country, adding that UNHCR assisted some, while others returned on their own.

“Their return is on their own volition because we cannot guarantee security for returnees,’’ Encontre states.

In April, President Alassane Ouattara toured major towns in the western part of the country to preach peace and to stress the need for reconciliation.

Ouattara said the tension in the western part of the country was rooted in history. He attributed it to differences in land ownership, ethnic tension and issues of nationality.

Amnesty International says most of the mayhem committed since 2011 were perpetuated by the FRCI, said to be on a revenge mission, as the region is a stronghold of former President Laurent Gbagbo. The international rights organisation has urged Ouattara to look inward, investigate and prosecute members of the FRCI.

Amnesty International notes that none has been arrested since allegations of incessant attacks, killings and sacking of villages in the western region began.

The prosperous western part of Cote d’Ivoire, home to the country’s cocoa wealth, also has many informal security outfits.

To douse tension in the west, UN officials have been working with the Ivorian authorities to mop up weapons used by civilians during the political crisis.

But some of the officials say the records on weapon collection have not been impressive.

A UN official who works with the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) unit in the Western region, says many of the residents may have hidden their weapons in the forests.

According to the official, “they hope to use those weapons some day, I guess. ’’

Residents say the security in Cote d’Ivoire is safer for areas located very close to Abidjan, the economic and administrative hub of the country.

Patrick Konnan, a student, said: “The farther away you move from Abidjan, the less certain and vulnerable the security situation becomes.

“Within and outside Abidjan, security is also measured according to loyalty of communities to the iconic figures of the Ivorian crisis; former President Gbagbo and the incumbent, Ouattara. ‘’

Gbagbo is standing trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague since December, 2011, for the war crimes that trailed his refusal to hand over power after losing the election in 2010.

His followers have vowed to fight on for his release and also give it as a condition for peace and reconciliation.

Gbagbo’s party which wields strong influence in the country, has turned down entreaties to participate in the Ouattara-led government and also boycotted the last legislative elections.

The president of Gbagbo’s political party, Ivorian Peoples’ Front, Miaka Oureto, says the party has started negotiations with the government on the need to release all political prisoners.

Among the prisoners are Gbagbo’s wife, Simone and his son Michel, who were arrested and also charged with economic and human rights abuses during the Ivorian political crisis.

While the security situations at the outskirts and hinterlands remain unpredictable , Abidjan also has some trouble spots. In Yopougon, the largest residential semi-urban setting in Abidjan, Gbagbo’s influence still manifests, with attendant insecurity. Night crimes of burglary, petty stealing, rape and killings are regular occurrences.

The FRCI, gendarmes, the police and UN peace keeping force provide security in the area, but Yopougon has remained slippery, with many of the former president’s loyalties not ready to surrender.

As the country searches for peace, an author and Yale University Professor, Mike Mcgovern, says for more than 10 years, Cote d’Ivoire has remained in a state of “no war and no peace. ’’

In a book entitled, “Making War in Cote d’Ivoire,’’ Mcgovern says the war in Cote d’Ivoire has been a “process and not series of events’’.

The big question remains: Will Ivorians look at war as series of past events or as a process to be pursued into the future? Only time will tell.

Egwa writes for News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Oche Echeija Egwa