ABIDJAN – Ivorian security forces fired live bullets and teargas on Saturday to disperse protesters in Abidjan calling for incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo to step down, wounding at least one of them, witnesses said. His rival, Alassane Ouattara, has called for Egypt-style mass protests to oust Gbagbo, who has refused to step down as leader of the world’s top cocoa grower after a Nov 28 presidential election that UN-certified results show Ouattara won.
Witnesses said hundreds of youths gathered in Abobo, a pro-Ouattara area of the main commercial city Abidjan, but soldiers and police dispersed them. Abobo has often been the scene of violent clashes between security forces and civilians. “The … youths started assembling at the roundabout this morning. The security forces came in armoured vehicles and fired teargas and bullets into the air,” said Tieba Doumbia, 30, who owns a small shop nearby. A teargas grenade landed in a local market, forcing dozens of women to flee, he said.
There was no immediate comment from the military or police. At least one protester was shot and wounded by a soldier, witness Idrissa Diarrassouba said. He also said protesters looted a large department store owned by a Lebanese businessmen seen as close to Gbagbo. There are tens of thousands of Lebanese in Ivory Coast, running everything from small shops to huge export businesses. Many are seen as pro-Gbagbo and Lebanon’s ambassador was one of only two to go to his swearing in. They are rarely targeted.
The army imposed a night-time curfew across the country this weekend that will be lifted at 0600 GMT on Sunday. Gbagbo has defied widespread international condemnation and Western sanctions by clinging to power, with backing from a legal body that overturned Ouattara’s win and the military, which has crushed dissent.
