Thousands Flee Ivory Coast

At least 200,000 people have fled Abidjan as fighting between forces loyal to rival presidential candidates continues.

With the world’s attention turned to North Africa and Japan, the political crisis in the Ivory Coast continues, threatening to plunge the country back into civil war. Gun battles flared in the capital Abidjan over the weekend after African Union talks to resolve Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara’s dispute over which man won last November’s presidential elections broke down. Ouattara is widely recognized as the winner but Gbagbo, the incumbent president, refuses to step down, and forces loyal to each candidate have engaged in sporadic fighting. In the past two weeks 200,000 people have left Abidjan, bringing the total number of people who have fled their homes since November to 450,000. About 90,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring Liberia.