IVORY COAST (3)

The stalemate in Ivory Coast appears close to being broken. Instead of a stand-off in the country's main city Abidjan between former, but refusing-to-budge, President Laurent Gbagbo's supporters and those of won-the-election-but-not-yet-in-office President Alassane Ouattara, the latter's main forces have swept down from their stronghold in the north to force the issue once and for all. This has taken place relatively quickly, but also (it appears) at the cost of dirty fighting, if not massacres, underway. What happens in Abidjan is unlikely to be as straightforward, so expect lots more casualties.

I have said it before, but will say it again, the world's differing reactions to this conflict and that in Libya are thought-provoking. The main justification for intervening in Libya was to prevent a massacre in Benghazi. The non-intervention of the same countries in Ivory Coast has not prevented massacres there, despite the fact that U.N. forces are already in the country. It must make the average Ivorian both puzzled and seriously pissed off.  

Walter Blotscher