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UN / LE ROY COTE D’IVOIRE
STORY: UN / LE ROY COTE D’IVOIRE
TRT: 2:11
SOURCE: UNTV / ONUCI
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 2 MARCH 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT
UNTV - RECENT - UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN headquarters
UNTV - 2 MARCH 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, speakers at podium
3. Cutaway, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General, Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations:
“There was no plane landed that evening. It was a clear mistake. The report from the mission (ONUCI) was a mistake. And therefore, I met this morning with the Chargé de affaire of Belarus and I expressed our deep regrets and our apologies for the damage caused to Belarus due to a wrong reporting from the mission.”
5. Cutaway, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General, Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations:
“Belarus authorities have confirmed their full compliance with the embargo towards Ivory Coast. Any private company is not engaged on any deal with Ivory Coast so we welcome that very much.”
7. Cutaway, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General, Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations:
“The tension is increasing. The clashes between both sides, the number of clashes are increasing. The attacks or harassment of peacekeepers is increasing. We keep insisting on our freedom of movement and to patrol as much as we can but very often we face difficulties.”
RECENT – ONUCI - 15 FEBRUARY 2011, ABIDJAN, COTE D’IVOIRE
9. Various shots, aerial view of people leaving the Abobo district
10. Various shots, barricades on the main road in Abobo district
11. Aerial shot, charred tires in Yopougon district
12. Aerial shot, SOTRA (Abidjan Transport Company) buses charred
13. Aerial shot, Ivorian Security Defense Force tanks along Abobo district
14. Aerial shot, UNOCI tanks along Abobo district
Head of peacekeeping operations Alain Le Roy made a public apology to Belarus after the United Nations (UN) accused the country of breaking the arms embargo on Cote d’Ivoire.
Speaking to the press today (2 Mar) at UN headquarters, Le Roy said that he met with the Chargé de affaire of Belarus and “expressed our deep regrets and our apologies for the damage caused to Belarus due to a wrong reporting from the mission.”
His apology today (2 Mar) at UN headquarters comes after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement expressing deep concern that three attack helicopters and related materiel from Belarus were reportedly being delivered for incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo's forces.
Ban’s statement from Monday (28 Feb) called the issue “a serious violation of the embargo against Côte d'Ivoire which has been in place since 2004,” and asked the UN mission in the country (ONUCI) to monitor the situation closely and to take all necessary action.
In recent weeks, the UN has reported that hundreds of families have fled their homes in parts of Abidjan amidst clashes between armed groups supporting Côte d’Ivoire’s two rival leaders, president-elect Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo.
Le Roy said the “tension is increasing” adding that “the attacks or harassment of peacekeepers” is also increasing.
There has been fresh violence in the commercial capital's Abobo District, particularly around the political capital, Yamoussoukro, which is held by forces loyal to Gbagbo but lies directly south of territory held by former rebels.
Aid groups are appealing for funding to help tens of thousands of Ivorians who have fled to neighbouring countries, many to escape violence in the volatile west.
Ouattara’s Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, had called for a nationwide march last month to force out Gbagbo. Security forces reportedly fired at protesters who heeded the call, killing several.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) yesterday (1 Mar) expressed concern over the plight of civilians trapped in Abobo and called for a halt to the fighting to allow non-combatants to leave.
According to UNHCR, the population of Abobo is estimated at 1.5 million people, many of whom have already fled while armed groups are reported to be preventing others from leaving.
Escalating tension in Abidjan has led to the resumption of Gbagbo militant checkpoints, not only in Abobo but also in the neighborhoods of Cocody, Adjame, Yopougon and Treichville.
There have been reports of many dead bodies, burned buses and shops looted, and of young militiamen attacking people inside their homes. The developments on the ground have led to rising transportation costs, as thousands of families tried to board taxis, buses or private cars to reach safer neighbourhoods or their home villages.
Côte d’Ivoire has been beset by political uncertainty, with growing reports of tension and violence between rival groups since incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo refused to leave office after he was defeated by opposition leader Alassane Ouattara in a presidential election held last November, whose result was certified by the UN.
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