Ivory Coast needs help securing border

YAMOUSSOUKRO, Ivory Coast, May 16 (UPI) -- The Ivorian government has invited members of the international community to help secure the border with Liberia, the prime minister's office said.

The government in Ivory Coast appealed for the estimated 160,000 refugees in Liberia to return home as the country tries to recover from a political stalemate that left hundreds dead.

Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo was arrested last month at a compound in the commercial capital Abidjan. Gbagbo refused to surrender power despite international recognition that Alassane Ouattara won a November election.

At least 220 civilians were killed by pro-Gbagbo forces and Liberian mercenaries while fleeing to Liberia after the former president's arrest. Patrick Achi, a spokesman for the Ivorian government, said the international community was called on to help secure the Liberian border, Bloomberg News reports.

The Ivorian Defense Ministry said that most of the victims were singled out for ethnic reasons or because they lived in parts of country typically considered supportive of Ouattara.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast added that U.N. Security Council had recently extended its mandate.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/05/16/Ivory-Coast-needs-help-securing-border/UPI-33691305556009/.