Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ABIDJAN1323
2006-11-29 17:29:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abidjan
Cable title:  

UN TRYING TO SORT OUT RECENT VIOLENCE IN DUEKOUE

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PREF IV 
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VZCZCXYZ0009
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAB #1323/01 3331729
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 291729Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2213
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0811
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0169
C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 001323 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DAKAR FOR USAID/OFDA/RDAVIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF IV
SUBJECT: UN TRYING TO SORT OUT RECENT VIOLENCE IN DUEKOUE

Classified By: Nick Hilgert for Reasons 1.4 B & D.

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 001323

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DAKAR FOR USAID/OFDA/RDAVIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF IV
SUBJECT: UN TRYING TO SORT OUT RECENT VIOLENCE IN DUEKOUE

Classified By: Nick Hilgert for Reasons 1.4 B & D.


1. (C) SUMMARY: Francois Sonon, Head of the Duekoue Field
Office for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA),confirmed five deaths as a result of ethnic
clashes between local Guere and Burkinabe in several villages
just north of Duekoue in the Zone of Confidence (ZOC). UNHCR
staff are meeting with displaced populations in Douekoue and
estimate that some 500-650 persons may have fled their
villages. Duekoue has been the scene of several local
militia demonstrations in November and these latest incidents
underscore the continued volatility in western Cote d'Ivoire.
END SUMMARY.


2. (U) Local newspapers have reported a series of violent
incidents over the past two weeks in the area around Duekoue,
particularly the villages of Blodi, Irouzon, and Toa-zeo.
Duekoue lies just east of Guiglo in western Cote d'Ivoire and
the three villages lie just north of Duekoue in the Zone of
Confidence (ZOC). Details of the incidents are hard to
uncover and the numbers involved may have been exaggerated,
but it appears that ongoing conflict between local indigenous
Guere and so-called "Burkinabe" from northern Cote d'Ivoire
have resulted in several deaths. A Duekoue-based pro-Gbagbo
militia group, the (Ethnic) WE-Patriotic Alliance (APWE),may
have participated in some attacks.

OCHA SAYS REPORTS EXAGGERATED BUT TRUE
--------------


3. (C) Francois Sonon, Head of Field Office for OCHA in
Duekoue, told RefCoord that a series of bizarre incidents
since the beginning of the month had resulted in five
confirmed deaths in clashes between local Guere and
Burkinabe. The spark, according to Sonon, occurred in
Toa-zeo when two Guere were killed. At some point,
machete-wielding members of the Duekoue-based pro-Gbagbo
militia, the APWE, together with locals, attacked several
villages in revenge for the killings. There are reports that
villages were burned and Blodi, Irouzon, and Toa-zeo are now
"empty" after people fled the violence, according to Sonon.
Sonon confirmed several injuries and said at least one woman

was raped in Irouzon. Sonon said some papers had reported up
to fifteen locals had been killed, but he claimed these
reports are exaggerated. Another OCHA official said that
some 500 persons, all Guere, had fled the fighting in Blodi
and had taken up residence with host families in Duekoue.
Sonon confirmed reports that two more persons were killed
during funeral services for one of the victims and that local
police investigating the killings found another body wrapped
in a plastic bag stuffed in a well and "a number" of
skeletons.

UNHCR FURIOUS
--------------


4. (C) Saber Azam, UNHCR Representative, confirmed the
general sequence of events to RefCoord but said he was
"furious" with ONUCI, and Pierre Schori in particular.
According to Azam, ONUCI had not been able to provide any
specific details of the events to UN agencies despite the
fact that they are responsible for monitoring the ZOC. Azam
said his own personnel had been blocked from entering the ZOC
to investigate by ONUCI forces, although ONUCI told him that
the military governor was preventing access. Azam said UNHCR
staff are currently meeting with the displaced populations in
Douekoue to try to identify how many have been displaced, but
that he had advised ONUCI forces in Doekoue not to establish
another IDP camp. (Note: there is an IDP camp in Guiglo
holding approximately 7,000 IDPs. End note.) Azam explained
that the Mayor of Duekoue told his staff that the skeletons
they found date from the 2002 conflict when locals cleaned up
dead bodies after rebel forces had been repulsed and for
whatever reason did not bury them in a cemetary.

DUEKOUE SCENE OF RECENT MILITIA AGITATION
--------------


5. (C) November has been a busy month in Duekoue. Local
militia groups, including the APWE, the Movement for the
Liberation of Western Cote-d'Ivoire (MILOCI),the Front for
the Liberation of the Greater West (FLGO),and the Patriots
and Freedom Fighters of the Greater West (PERGO),held a
number of protests in early November to demand the second
payment of the remaining disarmament grant. Disarmament of
local militias was halted in Guiglo after questionable
candidates presented themselves with few weapons. Although
the extent of the APWE's involvement in the inter-ethnic
conflict taking place in villages just outside Duekoue is
unclear, both Sonon and Azam stated they believe the APWE is
trying to take advantage of the situation to increase
tensions in an area under ONUCI's authority.

COMMENT
--------------


6. (C) The facts surrounding these incidents are extremely
muddled. Both ONUCI and UN-OCHA are planning to send
investigation teams to the area this week to determine
exactly what happened and the results of their investigations
will be reviewed closely. In the meantime, these incidents,
as well as the regular protests of various militia groups in
places like Guiglo and Duekoue, reinforce the fact that
western Cote d'Ivoire remains a volatile and politically
charged region and is likely to remain so well into 2007.
Hooks