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ICRC concerned by number of civilian casualties

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Thursday expressed concern at the growing number of civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict in Cote d'Ivoire. "The ICRC, concerned by the fact that a growing number of the wounded are women and children, wishes to remind belligerents that the obligation to spare and protect civilians is a basic rule of international humanitarian law that must be respected in all circumstances," it said in a statement. Even as fighting continues in the western part of the country, ICRC was striving to meet the most urgent needs of those affected by the hostilities. Its office in the western town of Man - which was retaken by rebels on Thursday - had been turned into a clinic where more than 80 patients are treated daily and the wounded given first aid and transferred to hospitals if necessary, "when security conditions allow", it said. Many wounded have been taken to the civilian hospital in Duekoue and the military hospital in Daloa both in western Cote d'Ivoire. With agreement of the parties to the conflict, ICRC staff travelled to the front lines on 14 December to evacuate other wounded people, it said. In another development, United Nations agencies said on Thursday that the movement of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Cote d'Ivoire was continuing and increasing in scope. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), fighting in the west of the country had driven "many thousands" of IDPs from Danane and Man regions towards Guiglo, one of the last safe havens in western Cote d'Ivoire. "Access to the western part of the country remains fairly unpredictable and nearly impossible due to rebel presence and sporadic fighting," it said. "This lack of access is making it increasingly difficult to get aid to the affected populations and help relocate trapped refugees and other IDPs." An estimated 44,000 people have crossed into Liberia since fighting broke out in the western area on 28 November. The majority -about 29,000 are Liberian returnees while the remaining 15,000 are Ivorians seeking refuge, UNHCR said. Ten thousand refugees have also fled to Mali; 35,000 to Burkina Faso and almost 1,600 to Guinea, it added. The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) for its part announced that "all efforts to control the AIDS epidemic in rebel-held territories, including prevention, medical and psychological initiatives are currently blocked". Due to the crisis, it warned, the HIV infection rates in the country could rise from the current estimated 10 percent of the population to as high as 30 percent in the next year alone. Meanwhile, Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported on Friday that ex-military ruler Gen. Robert Guei's son, Alain Guei, was on Thursday arrested by the gendarmes for questioning. "I was amazed to hear about the arrest of Sgt Alain Guei, my brother, yesterday [Thursday] morning," RFI quoted his elder brother Franck Guei as saying. "He is reportedly held at the Abidjan military prison. Given the unclear circumstances under which my father died, I believe this is not the appropriate time to jeopardize the life of his family, or at least what is left of it," he added. Gen. Guei was killed in the early moments of the mutiny on 19 September. The mutiny has since turned into a rebellion which has splitted the country into two with the northern part in the hands of rebels and the south in the government's hand. In another development, the prevailing curfew in the country has been extended to 26 December, Ivoiran radio announced on Thursday. In the commercial capital, Abidjan, it is observed between 19.00 GMT to 06.00 GMT.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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