[Binyamine]

Ivory coast 6 Woman Gunned Down by Machine Gun Fire (One Woman has Entire Head Blown Off, One Woman Still Alive, Ivorian Forces)

The footage was shot by a cameraman working for an opposition television station in the ivory coast

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast- In the midst of a protest held today by over 5,000 women in the Ivory Coast capital city of Abidjan in the southern district of Abobo, tanks entered the area and began shooting on the crowd, killing at least six women and injuring dozens more.

As the video from CNN shows, the women were engaging in a peaceful demonstration that included chants and singing and according to observers, they appeared to be unarmed.

The women gathered to protest the ongoing violence that has occurred since President Laurent Gbagbo lost the election in December and has refused to leave office.

Gbagbo has denied responsibility for the attacks and says his security and military forces were not in the area today, despite the fact that one tank was emblazoned with the word ‘Police’.

One of the protesters gave an account to BBC after the shooting, telling the reporter that she saw eight women killed during the attack, including a pregnant woman.

She said as she ran, another woman next to her was shot in the head. “We have no idea why they shot at us. . . I don’t know how I managed to get away unharmed. . . .

Only God knows how I escaped the killing.”

The street quickly cleared as clothes, bags and shoes were left, abandoned by the women trying to escape the gunfire.

The women had gathered to protest Laurent Gbagbo’s presidency, holding signs that called him an assassin and robber of power.

During the protest, many women blew on whistles, joining chants and singing as others danced.
The crowd became silent as the three tanks rolled into view.

With no warning, shots came from the tanks and the women starting fleeing.

Observers rushed to pull the bodies of the slain women from the street as the tanks continued to drive through the area.

Violence has been building in intensity in the capital and the country as a whole since the election results were announced in December of last year.

Gbagbo’s opponent, Alassane Ouattara, won just over 54% of the vote, a result verified by the UN and recognized by the international community.

However, Gbagbo has said that the results, especially from the polls in the north where Ouattara garners the most support, were falsified. Specific religious and ethnic groups are being targeted due to political party divides in the Ivory Coast.

Gbagbo is the leader of the Christian party, located largely in the southern region and Ouattara is the leader of the Muslim party, located mainly in the north.

Security forces and military troops have been targeting those with Muslim last names as well as those who openly support Ouattara.

As Ouattara attempts to run his cabinet out of a hotel guarded by UN security forces, the African Union in charge of resolving the dispute have declared they are extending their deadline for the second time to March.

The UN has also stated that the escalating violence is making it difficult to continue providing humanitarian aid to people in the Ivory Coast.

Many are fearful that this violence will lead to a renewed civil war as plumes of black smoke from burning tires can be seen each day in the Abidjan skyline.

Even Gbagbo’s supporters are growing weary of the situation. Said teacher Frank Agny, “I voted Gbagbo, but I don’t understand how a leader of this country can use tanks and break human rights like this.

We don’t want war, but only Gbagbo will be to blame if it happens.”

[Bluegill]

Don'tcha love Africa...

Great post though, cheers!

[pankajsharma]

damn..

politics sucks

[johnleeknoefler]

Laurent Gbagbo has been President since October 26, 2000.
Gbagbo took power following a popular uprising supporting his election victory after junta leader Gen. Robert Guei claimed a dubious victory in the 2000 presidential elections.
General Guei had assumed power on December 25, 1999, following a military coup d'etat against the government of former President Henri Konan Bedie.
In September 2002, a failed coup attempt evolved into an armed rebellion that effectively split the country in two.
On March 4, 2007, President Gbagbo and Guillaume Soro, leader of the rebel forces known as the New Forces, signed the Ouagadougou Political Agreement (OPA), a roadmap for the country’s emergence from its political crisis.
Soro became Prime Minister in April 2007. Presidential elections scheduled for November 2008 were postponed, rescheduled for November 2009, and postponed again that month. No new election date was set at the time of postponement. Many government institutions have resumed operation in areas under the control of the New Forces.



Cote d'Ivoire has a high population growth rate, a high crime rate (particularly in Abidjan), a high incidence of AIDS, a multiplicity of tribes,...

Political Parties
The Ivoirian constitution affords the legislature some independence, but it has not been widely exercised. Until 1990, all legislators were from the PDCI.
The December 2000 National Assembly election was marred by violence, irregularities, and a very low participation rate.
Largely because of the RDR boycott of the election to protest the invalidation of the candidacy of party president Alassane Ouattara, the participation rate was only 33%.
In addition, the election could not take place in 26 electoral districts in the north because RDR activists disrupted polling places, burned ballots, and threatened the security of election officials.

Until it took the reins of government in the 2000 elections, the FPI party was the oldest opposition party. Moderate in outlook, it has a socialist coloration but one which was more concerned with democratic reform than radical economic change. It is strongest in the Bete ethnic areas (southwest) of President Laurent Gbagbo.

The PDCI's "core" region may be described as the terrain of the Baoule ethnic group in the country's center and east, home of both Houphouet-Boigny and Bedie; however, the PDCI is represented in all parts of Cote d'Ivoire. Former members of the PDCI's reformist wing formed the originally non-ideological RDR in September 1994. They hoped that former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara would run and prevail in the 1995 presidential election, but Ouattara was subsequently disqualified by Bedie-sponsored legislation requiring 5-year residency. The RDR is now strongest in the mostly Muslim north.?
(Big Surprise?)

The FPI and RDR boycotted the presidential election of October 1995 because of Ouattara's disqualification and the absence of an independent electoral commission, among other grievances. Their "active boycott" produced a certain amount of violence and hundreds of arrests, with a number of those arrested not tried for 2-1/2 years. These grievances remained unresolved, adding to the political instability leading to the 1999 coup and 2002 rebellion.

Principal Government Officials
President--Laurent Gbagbo
Prime Minister--Guillaume Soro
Foreign Minister--Youssouf Bakayoko
Ambassador to the U.S.--Yao Charles Koffi
Ambassador to the UN--Alcide Djedje

Cote d'Ivoire maintains an embassy at 3421 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007; tel: 202-797-0300.



I could of filled in tons of blanks here and added my own comments to this discription of the current situation in Ivory coast. I prefer to leave this one mostly alone. Any one want to call and offer these morons some pointers feel free to use the number above.

[technocat]

brutal, unarmed women doing nothing wrong apart from having a peaceful demo.....hope the govt are held accountable

[ThomasD]

Originally Posted by CNN

U.S. officials said Friday that the attack left seven women dead, but Gbagbo rival Alassane Ouattara put the death toll at 12, including a child, with 110 more people wounded.

[Morgasm]

Going to be tough to oust a man that has no reservations about shooting unarmed women. Certainly glad I don't live there.

[ThomasD]

We had our chance to nuke 'em all.

[commondenom]

Originally Posted by technocat ↗

.hope the govt are held accountable

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....


who's going to hold them accountable??/ the western world?? the western countries that rely on this place for resources?......get real, it's western greed that created these problems, western greed ain't gonna help fix it....

[Binyamine]

Thanks my dear Kelly for the unedited version.