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| Africa Subsaharan | ||
| Ivory Coast: Thousands Seek Safety at Salesian Compound After Massacre | ||
| 2011-04-05 | ||
Large mainstream news organizations such as BBC and CNN refer to the victims as “civilians” while smaller media and Catholic news outlets are reporting that “Catholics” or “Christians” were killed.
According to the statement, refugees began to flee to the Salesian Missions compound for safety as the Carrefour district was looted and houses set on fire. Some witnesses report they were told to go to the compound, but by who is unclear at this time. Exactly what happened also remains unclear. The Herald Scotland is reporting that more than 800 people were killed in a single day around a Salesian Missions compound in Duékoué (300 miles west of Abidjan towards the Liberian border), calling it a “massacre.” The newspaper reports that “the attackers seem to have largely been soldiers descended from Burkina Faso immigrant Muslim families loyal to Ouattara.” The Herald Scotland also reported that “events at the Italian Salesian Roman Catholic mission in Duékoué increasingly echo a notorious church massacre during the Rwandan genocide in 1994.” Business Week reported that local civilians ran to seek shelter at the Salesian compound when the attack began March 29. The more than 800 bodies found so far are thought to be people who did not reach sanctuary with the Salesians in time. According to the International Committee for the Red The UN said on Saturday that more than 330 people had been killed – mostly by Ouattara’s forces. However, the Caritas aid agency estimated as many as 1,000 that may have been killed. The UN is reporting that “hundreds” of bodies have been found. What is clear is that it will take days, if not weeks, to determine the death toll as well as the circumstances. Currently, a humanitarian crisis worsens with each passing day. There are conflicting reports about the number of refugees. Somewhere between 10,000 and 30,000 civilians are essentially trapped in the Salesian compound. Caritas reported what missionaries are saying – that the fighting trapped 30,000 people in a church compound in Duékoué. Many reportedly had gunshot wounds but could not reach hospitals on the other side of the front line. International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesman Jean-Philippe Chauzy told a news briefing in Geneva that “some 20,000 Ivorians and West African migrants (in Duékoué) had found refuge in an overcrowded Catholic mission with little or no access to shelter, food, water and health facilities.” Col. Chaib Rais, the U.N. military spokesman, told The Associated Press that nearly 1,000 peacekeepers at Duékoué “are protecting the Catholic Church with more than 10,000 (refugees) inside, and we have military camps in the area.” Most likely, what began as approximately 10,000 refugees has grown in the last few days, as indicated by an official report by the ANS on March 31: “The flow of refugees is extraordinary. The arrival of those from the Carrefour district together with those from other parts of the city means that the courtyard of the parish has quickly become totally occupied.” In an April 4 statement, ANS reported “at present there are only two Salesians there who have to try to respond to the appeals for help from about 20,000 people. The UNO is helping to provide some provisions for the mission but distribution is not easy and the quantity is not sufficient to satisfy all the needs.” ANS reports an urgent cry for help, “to cope with this tragic situation, the Salesians and the refugees are in urgent need of help from the main humanitarian aid agencies.” | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 As said before, Africa is gener being cut in two, ala the already predomin Muslim North Africa versus Future-Targets-for-Jihad Southern Africa. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-04-05 19:44 |
| #1 Did Sarkozy start the Libyan operation as cover for French complicity in the upcoming genocide of Catholics in the Ivory Coast? It's not enough that they're aided and abetted the Rwandan genocide - they want yet another genocide credited to them? |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2011-04-05 15:04 |