UN worries about security in Abidjan, calls for militias to be disarmed

The UN peacekeeping mission in Cote d'Ivoire has expressed concern about the security situation in Abidjan and other towns and has called on the government to disarm militia bands and other armed groups operating there immediately. "The United Nations Operation in Coted d'Ivoire (ONUCI) has expressed its concern over the security situation," ONUCI said in a statement on Wednesday night. "The positive effects of... mixed patrols in conjunction with the Ivorian Defence Forces... are being jeopardized by the activities of these armed groups and militias in certain areas." Citing "an increased level of criminal activities," "ONUCI launched "an urgent appeal to the Ivorian authorities to take action to disarm and dismantle these groups without delay." Last week two people died and several were injured when the the Patriotic Grouping for Peace (GPP), a uniformed militia group that supports President Laurent Gbagbo, staged a 15-minute gunfight with police in the Abidjan suburb of Adjame in broad daylight. And this week, residents' nerves were rattled by the attempted murder of Daniel Brechat, a French businessman, who chairs an association of small businesses in Cote d'Ivoire. Men dressed in military camouflage shot Brechat in the stomach in Abidjan last Tuesday and left him for dead, one of the businessman's associates told IRIN. Brechat was currently being treated at the main French military base in the city, they added. The French businessman, a long-time resident of Cote d'Ivoire, had publicly criticised the government for failing to intervene when mobs rampaged through central Abidjan in November looting and torching French homes, schools and businesses. The government has since promised compensation. But it is ordinary Ivorians who suffer hardest from the worsening security. Residents in Adjame have long accused the GPP, who occupied a local school last August and turned into a training camp, of extortion and bullying. Last month, the militia group clashed with local taxi drivers and traders. The two sides through stones at each other. But things got out of hand on 3 February when the GPP picked a quarrel with cadets from the nearby police academy. Hundreds of young men ended up trading automatic weapons fire in the street. Colonel Philippe Mangou, the chief of staff of the armed forces was called to the scene to help restore peace. But on Thursday , he dismissed security concerns about the GPP, which accuses most Adjame residents of supporting the rebel movement that occupies the north of Cote d'Ivoire. "The GPP are not armed," Mangou told reporters as he repeatedly dismissed questions about last week's shoot-out. "They are real Ivorians who are aware of the danger that is hovering over our country," Mangou said. "I have been to their camp and I can confirm that I have not seen any weapons there." A correspondent for IRIN was caught in the thick of last week's gunfight and saw men on both sides firing automatic rifles. Mangou countered by outlining demands of his own, saying he wanted notification before any international peacekeepers searched military cargoes. The UN Security Council, which is trying to prevent Cote d'Ivoire sliding back into civil war, tightened its arms embargo against the West African country last month. It gave more than 10,000 UN and French peacekeepers patrolling a fragile ceasefire in Cote d'Ivoire the authority to carry search military installations without advance warning. "We are going to sit down with the peacekeeping forces to discuss how the resolution is going to be applied," Mangou said. "But we have asked to be notified first." He also said the Ivorian government was forging ahead with plans to repair fighter bombers and helicopter gunships which were damaged by French peacekeepers during a latest flare-up in hostilities three months ago. France crippled most of Ivory Coast's air force on the ground after nine of its peacekeepers died during a government bombing raid on the rebel capital Bouake in early November. Last month, the UN authorized the army to transfer three damaged jets and a Mi-24 helicopter gunship to the main city Abidjan and park them at the airport under UN supervision. Two severely damaged planes have still to be moved by road from the political capital Yamoussoukro, but two others were ostentatiously flown to Abidjan late January. The move sparked fears among residents that hostilities would resume. The United Nations rowed back on initial public statements that it had given the green light for the warplanes to be repaired and France said that it would not allow the damaged aircraft to be restored to flying condition. Despite these warnings, Mangou said categorically on Thursday: "We are going to repair the aircraft. Nobody can stop us from repairing our planes." However, he added, "It is not our aim to launch another offensive." A spokesman for ONUCI declined to comment on his remarks. Mangou also attempted to quash speculation about the fate of his predecessor as head of the government's armed forces, General Mathias Doue. Mangou said he was in hospital receiving treatment for high blood pressure. Doue was sacked in November after French military intervention stopped the government offensive in its tracks. Diplomats believe the military push was organised by Mangou on the authority of the president without Doue's direct involvement. Doue, who had never got on well with Gbagbo, disappeared from public view immediately after he was dismissed. Local newspapers have speculated that the general has gone into hiding because he fears for his life and that several officers close to him have fled the country. But Mangou denied this, saying Doue was still receiving treatment in an un-named hospital. "He is not very well, he is resting," he said. The other officers who had disappeared from public view "are in the country and have been in touch with the Defence Ministry," Mangou added.