"At least 1,000 Christians were slaughtered this week in at the Salesian Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus mission in Duekoue, Ivory Coast by Muslim troops loyal to Alassane Ouattara."Still waiting to hear from the New York Times.
[Hat tip to Roger Lessa]
I don’t think France’s action has much to do with the UN or anything such. The fact was that there was a modus Vivendi between France on one side and both Gbagbo and Ouattara on the other side. More or less, France would not engage its forces on either side and would remain neutral as long French citizens and interests in Ivory Coast were left alone and safe. The point was that France would not tolerate a repeat of the 2004 events. It pretty much held well but Gbagbo out of control thugs broke that “agreement” in the past couple of days and France is sending Gbagbo the bill, one rocket at a time.
ReplyDeleteHistorical context -- reminds me of the senselessness of the Rwandan genocide.
ReplyDeleteNew York Times reported this story on 4/2/11: Hundreds Killed in Ivory Coast Town as Conflict Intensifies.
5 Things You Need to Know About the Ivory Coast Conflict:
"Fighting fair is not in vogue in Ivory Coast. From the BBC: Each side used foreign mercenaries and accused the other side of using foreign support. Both sides have burned their victims alive. "You burn one, we'll burn 10," said one Gbagbo supporter. YouTube videos show the horror: Piled bodies writhe in pain after a beating. Burning tires and tables are placed on top of them to form an evening bonfire. The police—clearly in shot—help out the crowd. Women protesting peacefully are mown down by canon fire from a convoy of government vehicles, leaving seven dead. U.N. helicopters firing on Gbagbo’s loyalists are all that prevented heavy weapons being turned on civilians and U.N. peacekeepers."
Lord have mercy.
The elephant in the room: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gzyeo1Z1I4
ReplyDeleteI am a fervent Catholic and I am African. The crisis in Ivory Coast is being portrayed by some as a Christan v. Muslim battle which it is not. Gbagbo, a Christian has tried to get international support from Christians by using that false argument. Here is a blog post here that reminds that Gbagbo is a Bigamist, not exactly very "Christian." http://africanentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2011/04/senator-inhofe-glenn-beck-and-christian.html
ReplyDeleteThere is also the problem of the video. It is not from Ivory Coast as some in international media investigated: http://observers.france24.com/content/20110407-beware-internet-misinformation-hoax-footage-atrocities-ivory-coast
So, yes, the situation in Ivory Coast is tragic and innocent civilians are dying. But definitely not targeted against Catholics.