UN troops in Ivory Coast may use force to defend self, civilians

Thu, 30 Dec 2010

New York - United Nations peacekeepers in Ivory Coast have been authorized to use "all necessary means" to defend themselves and government officials under their protection, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday.

Ban also warned that any attack against the peacekeepers would be a violation of international law.

Ban said he remained "very concerned" by the deteriorating situation in Ivory Coast, where incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to step down after losing the November 28 presidential runoff elections to opposition leader Alassane Ouattara.

Ban said the UN headquarters at the Golf Hotel in Abidjan has been threatened with attacks from the Young Patriots, a group supporting Gbagbo, starting on the New Year. Ouattara and some government officials have taken refuge in the hotel.

The UN mission in Ivory Coast, known as UNOCI, has about 10,000 military and civilian personnel deployed to provide security to the government and key political stakeholders.

Ban said UNOCI is "authorized to use all necessary means to protect its personnel, as well as the government officials and other civilians at these premises of the hotel."

"The secretary general therefore wishes to warn that any attack against peacekeepers constitutes a crime under international law, for which the perpetrators and those who instigate them will be held accountable," the UN said in a statement.

"Any attack on the Golf Hotel could provoke widespread violence that could reignite civil war," it said. "The secretary general calls on all those who may be contemplating participation in the attack to refrain from such dangerous irresponsible action."