As 6
Ivorians Under
UN Protection
Are Killed, UN
Admits to
"Light
Security"
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July
22 -- While
ostensibly
under UN
protection, at
least 6
Ivorian in the
Niambly
refugee camp
were killed on
July 20 and
5000 more were
made homeless,
nearly all of
the Guere
ethnicity
perceived to
support ousted
president
Laurent
Gbagbo.
Before
10 am on July
21, Inner City
Press asked
the spokesman
for Department
of
Peacekeeping
Operations
chief Herve
Ladsous, who
has taken to
refusing all
Inner City
Press questions,
as well as
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's top
two spokesmen,
for the
UN /
DPKO position
on how that
camp near
Duekoue in
Cote d'Ivoire
could be
burned down
and people
killed while
ostensibly
under ONUCI
protection. Is
Mr. Koenders
still in NY?
The
UN mission in
Cote d'Ivoire,
headed by Bert
Koenders,
is supposed to
be focused on
national and
ethnic
reconciliation
following the
joint military
effort
involving the
UN and the
French Force
Licorne to
oust Gbagbo.
Six hours
after the
questions were
posed, it was
neither
answered nor
acknowledged,
as we then
reported.
But after
10 pm on
Saturday, a
response came
in, which we
appended in
full, here,
and publish
herebelow, in
full:
From:
UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at] un.org
Date: Sat, Jul
21, 2012 at
10:35 PM
Subject:
Côte
d'Ivoire
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
In answer to
your question
about events
in Côte
d'Ivoire.
The Deputy
Special
Representative
of the UN
Secretary
General for
Côte
d’Ivoire,
Arnauld
Akodjénou,
today briefed
the media on
events in the
Duékoué
area. The
Mission
condemns the
attack on the
IDP camp which
resulted in
the killing of
6 people and
at least 15
seriously
injured.
UNOCI
had light
security
arrangements
in place for
UN and NGO
staff
operating
inside the
camp,
and
contributed to
securing the
outer
perimeter.
Ivorian
security
forces had the
primary
responsibility
for providing
security for
the Nahibly
IDP site.
At
the time of
the attack, 12
UN police were
inside of the
camp to
provide
security to
humanitarian
workers and
control entry
to the camp.
In addition,
10 military
officers were
stationed
outside of the
camp. When
several
hundred youths
approached the
site in the
morning of 20
July, UNOCI
immediately
called for
reinforcements,
which arrived
shortly
afterwards.
Some of the
demonstrators
by-passed the
entrance and
pushed the
wooden fences
to enter the
camp and set
it on fire.
UNOCI escorted
humanitarian
personnel out
of the camp,
assisted in
evacuating
some of the
injured IDPs,
and provided
security to
IDPs seeking
shelter
elsewhere.
UNOCI
and national
security
forces are
currently
providing
enhanced
security at
Nahibly camp,
the Catholic
Mission in
Duékoué,
and near the
Mairie and
Sous-Préfecture,
where large
numbers of
IDPs have
gathered.
UNOCI
is conducting
a full
investigation
of the
incident.
While we
appreciate the
answer and
publish it in
full upon
receipt, it
must be noted
that the UN
and DPKO have
said they are
conducting an
investigation
of their
alleged direct
killing of
civilians in
North Kivu in
the DR Congo,
but have yet
to provide any
updates. Will
they
here?
With much more
delay,
Haitians are
still waiting
for the UN to
respond to
formal
complaints
about the
introduction
of cholera by
peacekeepers,
a topic on
which Ladlous
directly and
on camera
refused to
answer Press
questions,
along with why
he and Ban
have an
alleged war
criminal Sri
Lanka general
Shavendra
Silva as an
adviser.
When SRSG
Bert Koenders
was at the UN
in New York
this week
and Inner City
Press asked
him about
Duekoue, the
site of
earlier
massacres of
Guere and now
this one,
Koenders said
he'd had asked
for action by
the government
of Alassane
Ouattara,
who replaced
Gbabgo.
The UN
is in fact
proposing to
remove a full
battalion or
750 troops
from Cote
d'Ivoire,
based on its
assessment
that things
are safer and
better.
There
remain
troubling
inconsistencies
between
Koenders
statements in
New York and
the deadly
events on the
ground back in
the Ivory
Coast. We hope
to have more
on this. Watch
this site.
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