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French take over Abidjan airport

BBC News

France has sent extra troops to Ivory Coast’s main city, Abidjan, and taken control of its airport.

It comes as fighting continued between forces loyal to the UN-recognised president, Alassane Ouattara, and his rival, incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.

The city’s pro-Gbagbo TV station called for people to mobilise against the French ‘”occupation”.

An adviser to Mr Ouattara said his forces were preparing a final push to depose Mr Gbagbo, AP reports.

France has sent an extra 300 soldiers to Ivory Coast, military spokesman Thierry Burkhard said, taking the total French force to about 1,400.

The airport had been secured by UN troops since Friday, but the French move meant the airport was now able to re-open, Mr Burkhard said.

He said there were no immediate plans to start evacuating foreigners.

More than 1,500 foreigners are sheltering in a French army camp.

They include about 700 French nationals, some 600 Lebanese citizens and 60 Europeans of assorted nationalities, French media report.

‘Lives at stake’

Ivorian state TV, which is controlled by Mr Gbagbo, accused the French troops of preparing a genocide like the one in Rwanda in 1994, when more than 800,000 people were killed.

A strap line on state TV on Sunday read: “[French President Nicolas] Sarkozy’s men are preparing a Rwandan genocide in Ivory Coast. Ivorians, let us go out en masse and occupy the streets. Let us stay standing.”

Mr Sarkozy has called a cabinet meeting for Sunday afternoon to discuss the crisis in Ivory Coast.

On Saturday, heavy artillery fire was heard in Abidjan as the two sides fought for key sites including the presidential palace, the headquarters of state TV and the Agban military base.

Four UN soldiers were seriously wounded when special forces loyal to Mr Gbagbo fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a UN armoured personnel carrier.

Duekoue ‘massacre’

The west of Ivory Coast has also seen vicious battles between rival militias and ethnic groups. On Saturday, the Caritas aid agency said its staff had found the bodies of hundreds of people in Duekoue, and estimated that 1,000 may have died.

The killings occurred between 27 March and 29 March in the Carrefour district, which was controlled at the time by fighters loyal to Mr Ouattara, spokesman Patrick Nicholson told the Associated Press.

“Caritas does not know who was responsible for the killing, but says a proper investigation must take place to establish the truth,” he said.

Most of the 1,000 peacekeepers based in Duekoue had been protecting about 15,000 refugees at a Catholic mission there, Mr Nicholson added.

The International Committee of the Red Cross put the death toll at about 800, while the UN said more than 330 people were killed as Mr Ouattara’s forces took over Duekoue, most of them at the hands of his fighters. However, more than 100 of them were killed by Mr Gbagbo’s troops, it added.

Sidiki Konate, a spokesman for Mr Ouattara’s government, said that while some people had been killed in the fighting between the two sides in recent days, there had been no deliberate killings of Gbagbo supporters.

ICRC staff who visited Duekoue on Thursday and Friday to gather evidence said the scale and brutality of the killings were shocking.

Tens of thousands of women, men and children have fled the fighting.

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Zambia: Pregnant Woman Strips Naked to Prove Her Innocence in Stealing Charge

Business at Senama market in Mansa District came to a halt last evening when a pregnant woman stripped naked in the market shelter after she was accused of stealing a Fifty Thousand Kwacha by her fellow trader.

The woman decided to strip naked after she failed to convince her accuser that she had not stolen the money.
The duo was selling vegetables at the market when they picked up a quarrel after one of them lost a K 50,000 and accused her friend of stealing the money.

ZANIS reports that after a prolonged argument, the woman who accused her counterpart of having stolen the money demanded that her friend produces all the money she had so that she could identify her K 50, 000 note.

It was at this point that the accused woman decided to strip naked in the full view of people who had gone to watch them argue and those that went to buy assorted items.

She told ZANIS that that she stripped naked to show her accuser that she did not steal her money. One of the on lookers who sort anonymity said it was shameful for a woman to resort to stripping naked in presence of men and children at the market.

She said it was unjustifiable for the accused woman to remove all her clothes in public even if she was pressurized by her friend.

Meanwhile, other women expressed displeasure at the event but condemned the woman who had accused the other of stealing the money for not listening to her friend’s explanation.

They said it would be more important for the women in question to settle their wrangles at the police station than reaching the extent of stripping naked in public.

Lusaka Times

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Kelly Clarkson Visits an Orphanage in South African

Celebrity Singer Kelly Clarkson boosted the spirits of a group of underprivileged children by visiting an orphanage during a charity trip to Cape Town, South Africa.

The singer met the residents of the House of Hope, an organization which looks after abused and forsaken children most of whom are infected with HIV.

The hit actress discussed her experience in a post on Facebook.com, writing, “I just got back from Africa and had so much fun! I got to hang with the House Of Hope kids and go on a mini safari with some friends and family. I love South Africa! I love those kids even more.

“If you don’t know, House of Hope is an orphanage in South Africa that I got involved with a little over a year ago. They house around 30 kids right now and have had a rough life but you wouldn’t know it because they are the greatest kids with the best hearts, laughs, and smiles!”

HIV stereotypes remain the biggest barrier in containing the spread of the disease and celebrity interaction with HIV patients play a big role in combating the stigma

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A Woman from Chad Bites Her Cheating Partners Organ

Fatah Alhassan

A 35-year-old never-married woman has bitten off her new boyfriend’s sexual organ during sexual intercourse in a remote village in the African country of Chad.

The woman, Hawa,  had never heard of anything called oral sex was asked to perform it on her experienced partner whose wife had traveled on a business trip to Malaysia and took the opportunity to ask the mistress for the service.
Everything was going well until the man’s cell phone which was in his pocket ranged. The unexpected sound of the phone which was just inches away from the woman’s mouth caused a shock which accidentally led to her biting off the man’s organ.

No charges have been pressed against the woman yet and the man, Idisu,  has not yet made any public statement. He is said to be recuperating in a community clinic outside the village of Altonodji. Doctor say the injury is not life threatening but it is not yet clear whether the cheating husband can embark on such mission again in the future.

Fatah Alhassan, Altonodji, Chad
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New Energy-efficient UN Offices in Kenya Serve as Model for Sustainable Future – Ban

31 March 2011 –Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today officially opened the new energy-efficient United Nations office complex in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, calling it a model for environmentally sustainable architecture in Africa and beyond.

“This building is beautiful, comfortable and efficient. But more than any of that, this building is a living model of our sustainable future,” Mr. Ban said at the opening of the facility at Gigiri, which houses the new offices of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

According to UNEP, buildings are responsible for more than one third of global energy use and are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in most countries. The Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that emissions from buildings will rise to 11.1 billion tons by 2020.

The manufacture of building materials contributes a further 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, a figure that is increasing with the continuing rise in construction globally, most of it in developing countries.

“If our growing population is going to survive on this planet, we need smart designs that maximize resources, minimize waste and serve people and communities,” said Mr. Ban. “This facility hits all of these targets.”

From the 6,000 square metres of shimmering solar panels to the environmentally-friendly paint on the walls, the new UN offices – which comprise four buildings that can accommodate 1,200 staff – boast myriad environmental features, while capitalizing on the natural benefits of Nairobi’s climate.

The features of the energy-neutral complex include automated low-energy lighting for workspaces, energy-efficient computers and water-saving lavatories. Rainwater is collected from the roofs to feed the fountains and ponds at the four entrances, and sewage is treated in a state-of-the-art aeration system and recycled to irrigate the landscaped compound.

“This facility embodies the new, green economy I have championed for years now. An economy that can usher in a cleaner future, create jobs and spur economic growth,” said Mr. Ban, who was joined at the inauguration ceremony by Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner and UN-HABITAT Executive Director Joan Clos, as well as other UN officials and dignitaries.

Calling the facility a “model for green architecture in Africa and beyond,” Mr. Ban said he hoped all UN offices will reach the very high bar set by those in Nairobi.

He added that the Organization is aiming to make its Headquarters complex in New York, which is currently undergoing major renovations after 60 years of existence, one of the cleanest, greenest buildings in the world.

While in Nairobi, Mr. Ban also held separate meetings with Mr. Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. He also had a range of meetings with senior UN officials either based in Nairobi or visiting for the Chief Executives Board (CEB) gathering. That meeting, held twice a year, brings together the heads of the specialized agencies, funds and programmes in the UN system.

Also today, he launched his report on HIV/AIDS ahead of the high-level meeting on the topic at the General Assembly in June.

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A Married Ghana Man Sentenced to Jail for Having Sex With 7 Sheep

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Kwaku Amable caught having sex with 7 sheep

A Kumasi Circuit Court has thrown behind bars a 36-year-old carpenter for 36 months for having sexual intercourse with a sheep.

Kwaku Amable, who is married with two children, was found guilty of bestiality, the act of having sex with an animal. He committed the act despite excessive bleating by the sheep at about 12 midnight on March 25, 2011.

The court, presided over by Emmanuel Amo-Yartey, convicted the carpenter of unnatural carnal knowledge, contrary to Section 104 (1) of Act 29/60, to which he pleaded guilty. Presenting the facts of the case, Chief Inspector Baffour Kyei said both the complainant, Adamu Issaka, a security man at Kent Security, and the convict reside at Buokrom Limex Quarry, a suburb of Kumasi.

The complainant, he said, reared sheep at his backyard and for some time now, some of his animals had been dying mysteriously. “Within a month, seven of the sheep died,” Chief Inspector Baffour Kyei told the court.

Last Friday, March 25, at about 12 midnight, Adamu heard one of the sheep bleating in the pen which compelled him out of the room to see what was wrong.

He said the complainant got closer to the pen and as he was approaching it, he saw a pair of bathroom sandals in front of the pen and a towel hanging on it. “When the complainant entered the pen, he found one of the sheep lying very weak. He lifted it up to ascertain what had happened to it only to see some whitish fluid emitting from the vulva,” he told the court.

The complainant was shocked after seeing the spectacle and decided to look round with a flash light to see who might have entered the pen.

The complainant surprisingly found Amable hiding in the backyard garden behind the pen, with his penis dangling. Realising that he had been caught, the convict knelt down and started to plead with the complainant to forgive him for abusing the animal.

He also pleaded with the complainant not to disclose the information to anybody. Chief Inspector Baffour Kyei said even though the complainant initially acceded to the convict’s request, he later changed his mind and reported the matter to the police.

Amable was eventually arrested and he admitted to having unnatural sex with four of the sheep on different occasions.
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Togo and Ghana Receiving More Ivorian Refugees as Crisis Spreads

UN Refugee Agency
Refugees from Côte d'Ivoire walk along a forest trail to find safety and shelter in eastern Liberia.

GENEVA, March 29 (UNHCR) – The Ivorian refugee crisis is spreading further across West Africa, with Ghana and Togo receiving a growing number of new arrivals. While the southern city of Abidjan has been relatively calm in recent days, fresh clashes were reported Monday in Côte d’Ivoire’s west, centre-west and east.

In the west, renewed fighting has been reported in the town of Duékoué, which has experienced several waves of violence since December. Hostilities have also spread to the town of Daloa, some 100 kilometres east of Duékoué, and to Bondoukou near the Ghanaian border.

“UNHCR continues to advocate with both forces for civilians to be protected from harm,” said the UN refugee agency’s chief spokesperson, Melissa Fleming, at a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.

In neighbouring Liberia, Grand Gedeh County in the east has registered over 10,000 newly arriving Ivorians in the last week alone, mostly in the Gbarzon and Tchein districts. Around 300 to 400 people are still arriving every day, and refugees tell UNHCR that many more are on their way.

“Several people say they left family members behind in their panic, including children. To reach Liberia, they cross the Cavally River with very few possessions and usually no money. Some could only carry bundles on their heads,” said Fleming.

The remote locations, rough terrain and long travel time between locations mean that UNHCR staff can only register refugees and distribute at one place at a time. The agency has dispatched relief items and is working with the World Food Programme to ensure food distribution and provision of high energy biscuits for all new arrivals. Additional staff have been deployed from Saclepea further north to strengthen the response.

A total of 24,507 refugees are now in Grand Gedeh, accounting for 22 per cent of the total 112,000 Ivorian refugees who have fled to Liberia since the crisis erupted after a presidential election in late November.

On Côte d’Ivoire’s eastern flank, Ghana has received 3,129 new refugees, mainly from Abidjan and its suburbs. UNHCR has set up a transit centre at the Elubo border crossing, as well as a refugee camp in the town of Ampain that can hold 3,000 people. The agency is providing food and relief items while racing to complete works on water, health and sanitation facilities.

The search is on to identify a second, bigger camp with the authorities. Fleming noted, “Although the number of refugees in Ghana is relatively small, the rapidly deteriorating conditions in Côte d’Ivoire require that we be prepared for a major influx. In the coming days, we will be deploying a team of six emergency staff to Ghana.”

Further east still, in Togo, some 857 Ivorians – over 60 per cent of them male – have also found safety in the capital Lomé. They fled through Ghana from Abobo, PK-18, Adjame, Williamsville and Yopougon, which are among the most populous and dangerous districts of Abidjan. Some in the group told UNHCR their properties were looted, others that they had been physically assaulted. Several women said they were raped.

In total, some 116,000 Ivorians have fled to eight West African countries since the post-election crisis started. In addition to Liberia, Ghana and Togo, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Nigeria are also hosting Ivorian refugees.

Of the US$97 million UNHCR needs for this emergency response, donors have thus far funded US$20 million.

By Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba
In Geneva

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Up to 1 Million People Driven From Homes by Violence in Côte d’Ivoire, UN Reports

25 March 2011 –As many as 1 million people have been driven from their homes in Côte d’Ivoire in the months-long turmoil stemming from the outgoing president’s refusal to leave office, with violence mounting and his loyalists using heavy weapons against civilians, a top United Nations official said today.

“The deteriorating security situation and the escalation in the use of heavy weapons has had a serious toll on the lives and well-being of the Ivorian people,” Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Atul Khare told the Security Council, ascribing most of the violence to forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, who lost a UN-certified and internationally recognized election to opposition leader Alassane Ouattara last November.

“The human rights situation is very grave, with a high number of human rights violations reported,” he said of the violence that has beset Abidjan, the commercial capital, and the western regions as a result of Mr. Gbagbo’s refusal to respect the results of a democratic election that was meant to reunite a country split by civil war in 2002 into a Government-held south and rebel-controlled north.

The massive displacement in Abidjan and elsewhere is being fueled by fears of all-out war,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Melissa Fleming told a news briefing in Geneva today. “This week, we have seen panic in Abidjan as thousands of youths have responded to the call for civilians to join the ranks of forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo.”

Showing slides, Mr. Khare detailed some of the worst attacks of the past three months, including an attack by pro-Gbagbo security forces loyal using heavy machine guns against a group of women demonstrating peacefully in Abidjan’s Abobo neighbourhood in support of President Ouattara, killing seven and seriously wounding many more.

In another instance Gbagbo loyalists fired several mortar shells into an Abobo market, killing more than 25 people and wounding more than 40 others. In all, 462 people have been killed since violence erupted in September. More than 93,000 people have fled across the western border into Liberia, while up to 1 million others have been internally displaced, Mr. Khare said.

Just yesterday UN peacekeepers, intervening in Abobo where Gbagbo loyalists were raining mortars down on civilians, opened fire, putting the attackers to flight. The 9,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), which has been supporting the stabilization efforts over the past seven years, is mandated to protect civilians.

Earlier this year the Security Council not only rebuffed Mr. Gbagbo’s demand for its withdrawal but also authorized the immediate deployment of 2,000 additional troops and three armed helicopters.

Gbagbo loyalists continue to obstruct UNOCI’s activities by blocking access and attacking personnel, Mr. Khare said. The mission has increased the number of patrols in vulnerable neighbourhoods, is arranging for round-the-clock patrols in Abobo, and is conducting aerial surveillance of Abidjan and the rest of the country. “We believe these measures have prevented further killings,” he added.

He also noted reported attacks by President Ouattara’s supporters, including an alleged assault by so-called “invisible commandos” in which 5,000 people were driven from their homes outside Abidjan.

He warned that an $87 million appeal for aid in Côte d’Ivoire and five neighbouring countries to face a potential major humanitarian crisis was seriously under-funded, “hampering the ability of the United Nations to provide much needed services to those forced to flee their homes.

“Access to those impacted by the ongoing crisis remains a serious concern. It is essential that all sides allow unhindered access for humanitarian actors to reach those in need,” he added.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said today it had received reports, as yet unconfirmed, that an additional 200 nationals of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), including people from Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Guinea and Togo, had been killed in the Guiglo area in western Côte d’Ivoire. ECOWAS supports Mr. Ouattara.

“In general, we are extremely concerned about the worsening situation, particularly given the continuing incitement by the outgoing president Laurent Gbagbo,” OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville told a news briefing in Geneva.

The UNHCR office in Guiglo was attacked and plundered on Wednesday and three vehicles, two motorbikes and all office equipment and furniture were stolen. “We condemn this plundering of our premises and reiterate our call to all parties to protect civilians and refrain from any further deliberate targeting of humanitarian organizations,” Ms. Fleming said, noting that vehicles were also stolen from several other humanitarian agencies in the area.

The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council today decided to send an independent international commission of inquiry to Côte d’Ivoire to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding allegations of serious rights abuses.

Yesterday, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos voiced serious concern over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation. “I call on those involved in the violence to respect civilians, including aid workers, and to allow rapid, safe and unimpeded access by humanitarian organizations,” she said.

UN News Service

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