Cote d’Ivoire

With the deepening political crisis in Côte d’Ivoire raising fears of a return to all-out conflict, the country’s estimated 500,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) face an increasingly precarious future. Many UN agencies and NGOs in the country have been finalising contingency plans for the “worst case scenario” entailing massive displacement and refugee flows into neighbouring countries. But while humanitarian agencies may be preparing for new and visible displacements on a large scale, e...read more

Rumours swirl about a military coup in the offing, police are bracing for protests, well-heeled Ivorians have booked flights out of the country, and there is a story doing the rounds about the birth of a talking baby who warned of violence within days. The nervousness is the end-product of the collapse of a peace plan that provided for elections to be held on Sunday 30 October when President Laurent Gbagbo’s five-year mandate runs out.

"Côte d'Ivoire Telecom wants to make the Internet accessible to everyone. The objective of our latest action is to allow the internet user to connect without fear. Whatever time they spend connected, from now on they will pay less," according to Bruno Koné, the company's D-G. This follows from the launch of ADSL Extra Large on 24 August. This service is currently available in the capital Abidjan but this month will become available in San Pédro et Yamoussoukro. In a usual uncompetitive twis...read more

Not far from scenes of war and conflict, which arise from the civil unrest that currently divides Côte d’Ivoire, children in Abobo primary school in the capital city of Abidjan are learning about peace. Pupils in a class taught by Florence Abo Kossia have just written words of peace on their slates. ‘Forgiveness’, ‘reconciliation’, and ‘peace’ are just a few. The pupils eagerly await their teacher’s approval.

After more than two years of intermittent conflict that effectively split Côte d’Ivoire in half and sparked fears of ethnic cleansing, the country’s 500,000 IDPs may finally have a glimmer of hope for a more peaceful future. However, serious causes for concern remain. Ethnic tensions in the polarised country are acute. Gross human rights violations against civilians, including IDPs, continue to be reported in both government and rebel-controlled areas.

Pages