Ivory Coast Conflict

[ST4]

I know this sounds stupid but what was/or still is the Ivory Coast Conflict? I have never heard about this conflict before. I was checking out the photos and saw Amerain solider in them.

So could anyone give me these things:

Where is the Ivory Coast?
Who is the conflict between?
When did this conflict take place (time)?

Any more information could help. Thanks! woot

[cut]

africa just above the equator, french speaking, but most importantly there's OIL in it's seas GO! GO! GO!

[hood]

This is a good place to start.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/ivory-coast.htm

[ßå$tĮТHÏ¿ð]

Wow the Ivory Coast conflict has been going on for awhile...same as the conflict in Uganda. They just are mostly not talked about because A: theres no americans/british/iraqi/afghani/canadians/italiens/spanish/polish/french getting killed (to the best of my knowledge anyways). And B: why talk about conflict else-were in the world when your country is stretching resources thin (i.e. canada/us). Its like pissing on an ants nest...sooner or later the bastards are running everywere and your going to get bit.

[Uncle Chô]

http://www.africaguide.com/images/afrmap.gif

http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/maps/iv-map.gif

To sum it up, it is a nasty mix of "traditional coup", nationalism, xenophobia, religion, hate, corruption, natural ressources and Western countries involvement.

During the Cold War, African dictators like Mobutu in former Zaire (now Democratic Republic (!) of Congo) had a strong political and financial support from France and Belgium, not only because they where the former colonialists but also because Mobutu claimed he was the rampart between the free world and the nearby marxist Angola...

One interesting new point is the ever growing presence of the USA in this historical French influenced region. Nearby Gabon is the spearhead of the new American diplomacy in West Africa. There are more and more US companies in this country, thus civilian but with a strong backup from the State Department and affiliated agencies ;). It worries the French diplomats because to understand this from a US point of view, it is like if France were putting his nose in Central America's affairs.

About Ivory Coast :

From the CIA Fact File (general) :

http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/iv.html

From the Library of Congress (in depth review):

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/citoc.html

About the recent war (from the BBC) :


Why did fighting break out?

The uprising began on 19 September 2002 with a mutiny by troops unhappy at being demobilised.

But it quickly turned into a full-scale rebellion, voicing the unhappiness of northern Muslims at what they saw as discrimination by the government of President Laurent Gbagbo.

Opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, a northern Muslim, was barred from standing in presidential elections because of a new law which said that presidential candidates must be born in Ivory Coast and both parents must be Ivorian.

He was accused of being from Burkina Faso, even though he had previously been prime minister of Ivory Coast.

For some Muslims, this symbolised their marginalisation.

Why was the law changed?

Because of fears of being "swamped" by immigrants.



During the time of President Felix Houphouet-Boigny, immigrants from its poorer neighbours were encouraged to do the dirty work in Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast used to be West Africa's richest country. It is the world's largest producer of cocoa, the raw ingredient of chocolate.

Foreigners, mainly from Burkina Faso and Mali, are estimated to count for a third of the population.

In the 1990s, the economy started to go downhill and Ivorians began to resent such a large foreign presence.

It was then that President Henri Konan Bedie introduced the concept of "Ivoirite", or Ivorianness.

Why does Ivory Coast matter?

Neighbours Burkina Faso and Liberia have been accused of backing the rebellion.

They have denied this but it raises the nightmare scenario of other countries being dragged into the conflict.

There have been several xenophobic attacks on Muslims and foreigners in government-controlled areas.

Since the conflict began, many thousands of these African expatriate workers have returned to their home countries.

This has already hurt the whole region as poor countries lose valuable remittance earnings.

Most French-speaking West African countries share the same currency, the CFA franc, and instability in Ivory Coast has hit investment and confidence across the region.

What is the French interest?

France is the former colonial power and has had a military base in Abidjan since the 1960s.

France guarantees the CFA franc and its businesses still dominate the economy.

Until anti-French protests led Paris to urge "non-essential" citizens to leave, there were 16,000 French nationals in Ivory Coast.

French troops have also been monitoring a ceasefire line across the middle of the country.

This is why France was so determined to push all the sides together and get them to agree to end the fighting and form a national unity government.

Why the anti-French feeling?

Because of the peace deal brokered by the French.

Rebels say they were promised the key defence and interior ministries under a power-sharing agreement, although this does not appear in the official text.

Supporters of Mr Gbagbo in the commercial capital, Abidjan, accuse the French of forcing him to sign this deal.

Since the conflict broke out, Mr Gbagbo has said the French army should have intervened to protect him, as a democratically elected leader.

So what happens next?

If all sides cannot make the power-sharing government work, then there could be a return to fighting - especially if French troops are switched away from manning the buffer zone.

One key thing to look out for is whether the neutral prime minister Seydou Diarra remains in his post.

If he resigns, then the prospect of differences being resolved through talking recedes.

And even if things go well, it is likely to be some time before the rebels feel they can hand in their weapons.
At the peak of the conflict (september 2002), France had nearly 4 000 fighting troops in Ivory Coast. See http://media.militaryphotos.net/photos/Ivory_Coast_conflict

From a military standpoint, the troops managed the situation very well. For the first time since the Gulf War, the rules of engagement were clear. "African talk" with the multiple rebels groups but no hesitation to show the force and use of heavy firepower if necessary (ie. 90mm light tanks rounds on direct hits).

A dozen soldiers have been wounded by mortar shells in the early fights. A few months ago, 2 others died in an isolated gunfire incident while on boat patrol on a lake. The attackers were drunk militiamen that shoot "for fun"...