Three killed in shantytown destruction in Abidjan

Three people were killed and a dozen others wounded when armed gendarmes [military police] using bulldozers, razed down residential shelters in the 'Jerusalem' shantytown of Cote d'Ivoire's commercial capital,Abidjan, on Saturday. At least 8,000 people were left without shelter. Destruction of shantytowns was carried out extensively following a 19 September 2002 coup attempt which sparked off a rebellion that left Cote d'Ivoire divided into rebel-controlled and government-controlled halves. The shantytowns were believed to house the September assailants and opponents of government, who still control parts of western and northern Cote d'Ivoire despite a peace accord in January that led to a government of national unity in which some rebel leaders hold positions. Human rights groups and UN agencies condemned the destruction of shantytowns, saying it targeted "foreigners", mainly from neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso and Liberia and others perceived to be opposed to the government of President Laurent Gbagbo. Although he had initially ordered the destruction, Gbagbo later decreed that the shantytowns should no longer be destroyed unless they are within close proximity of a military barracks, where they could pose a security risk. But officials within the town mayors' office told IRIN that the gendarmes used the bulldozers to violently destroy homes to make way for a private housing company to put up a new housing project. It was the violence that led to deaths and injuries of the camp residents. The chairman of the InterAgency Humanitarian Coordination Committee,Gemmo Lodesani, has adressed a letter to the UN Special Representative,Albert Tebvoedjre, condemning the destruction and requesting that an inquiry be conducted to establish the motives and the guilty parties.