×

Our award-winning reporting has moved

Context provides news and analysis on three of the world’s most critical issues:

climate change, the impact of technology on society, and inclusive economies.

Abidjan residents running out of food, water as fighting rages on

by George Fominyen | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Friday, 8 April 2011 12:52 GMT

"The needs are great but we can respond. We just need the violence to stop and full access to be granted ..." UN

DAKAR (AlertNet) - Countless dead bodies are strewn on the streets of Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan and entire neighbourhoods are without electricity and water following a week of fierce fighting between forces backing presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara and incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, the United Nations said late on Thursday.

Most residents are running out of food and clean water as many shops and markets are closed in the West African country's economic capital where an overnight curfew is in place. Those that remain open have raised their prices significantly.

“Many hospitals and health facilities have simply ceased their activities and the few that are not closed don’t have enough doctors, medicines and other basic equipment," the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in Abidjan to seek refuge in sites for internally displaced persons (IDPs) while several other thousands live with host families.

U.N. agencies say as many as 1 million people are uprooted in the Ivory Coast since unrest was triggered by a November presidential election which Ouattara won by eight percentage points according to U.N. certified results. But Gbagbo, who has been in power for a decade, rejected the outcome citing fraud and accused the United Nations of meddling in Ivorian affairs.

Aid agencies say they are facing a critical situation in gaining access to people who need relief with some of their staff coming under attack by various armed groups in Abidjan.

“The needs are great but we can respond. We just need the violence to stop and full access to be granted to reach the displaced, the children, the pregnant women, the sick, the elderly and all the other victims across the country," Ndolamb Ngokwey, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Ivory Coast, said in a statement.

“We reiterate our call that civilians cease being victims of this conflict and that aid reaches them without further delay", Ngokwey added.

Several relief groups have now been able to reach the western region of the country where humanitarian agencies estimate there 82,000 IDPs including 27,000 in the town Duékoué where they say hundreds were killed last week.

The World Food Programme (WFP) sent 85 tonnes of food to Duékoué while the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) has supplied soap, blankets, mats and cooking kits. The World Health Organisation (WHO) provided medicines and malaria kits, while UNICEF has helped to provide water and sanitation.

The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) sent 12 tonnes of medical equipment in Man in the west while Action contre la Faim said it would deliver 24 tonnes of emergency equipment to the same a town, which is near Duékoué.

Aid agency Save the Children said children and their families are living in terrible conditions in Duekoué.

“You are hit by a strong stench in the air when you enter the area where displaced families are living. There are no proper toilets and a huge lack of water, so people can't keep clean. There is massive overcrowding and people have no where to sleep,” Guy Cave, Save the Children's Country Director for Ivory Coast, said in a statement.

“The risk of disease spreading is acute - so we're now focusing on making sure children and their parents have access to proper shelter and sanitation,” he added.

Over 800,000 children have been unable to attend school in the Ivory Coast since the outbreak of post-election unrest because most schools have remained closed the U.N. said.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

-->