Massive displacement in western area

The town of Duekoue in western Cote d'Ivoire has become a major destination for thousands of people fleeing fighting between the Ivorian national army and rebel movements. Humanitarian sources told IRIN that as at Wednesday some 24,000 people displaced from various locations in western Cote d'Ivoire had sought shelter in and around Duekoue - one of the main towns in the department of Daloa. Fighting took place in the area last week between French soldiers deployed to monitor a two-month-old ceasefire and new armed movements. The sources said some 700 people had sought shelter in the town's Catholic Mission, where about 2,000 nationals of Burkina Faso had already been living for several weeks. The mission's inmates now include some 1,400 women and children. It had received financial support and food items to cater for the displaced, but the sources said much more food aid was needed because so many more people had sought refuge there. The sources said the already difficult situation in Duekoue had been worsened by the lack of electricity. The Catholic Mission, which has generators, is the only source of power in the town. French troops are posted in and around the town and a relative calm prevails during the daytime, but sources reported residents as saying that at night, "men in military uniforms" vandalised houses and committed other unlawful acts. The sources also expressed concern about the fate of people living in Man, the largest town in western Cote d'Ivoire, which has been the scene of heavy fighting between loyalists and the two new rebel groups, the Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP) and the Ivorian Popular Movement for the Great West (MPIGO - French acronym). The two groups emerged at the end of November. They operate in the west whereas the Popular Movement of Cote d'Ivoire (MPCI), created in late September, is based in the north. The MPCI signed a ceasefire agreement brokered by West African envoys on 17 October but the other groups are not a party to it. The three rebel groups met on Monday to discuss the possibility of an alliance, but decided not to create one at this time. However, they warned that they would declare a widespread war on all fronts if French troops attacked them. The rebels accused the French troops of taking sides since, by shooting at them, they had blocked them from confronting loyalist forces. French officials said they fired in self-defence. In other news, the international NGO World Vision has donated US $3,000 worth of medicines to the International Rescue Committee to enable it to help thousands of people who have fled the insecurity in western Cote d'Ivoire, including Liberians returnees - people who were formerly refugees in Cote d'Ivoire - Ivorian refugees and refugees of other nationalities.