After weeks of ambiguity, and that their forces were not only held hostage, but were targeted, the United Nations made an urgent application in France to help him target heavy weapons held by the forces of Mr. Gbagbo. While the UN has described the action as driven by the desire to avoid any escalation of a humanitarian crisis, the decision appears to reflect a change in policy within the United Nations.
Here is our correspondent Africa Ginny Stein.
GINNY STEIN: There is hope that the November elections would finally bring peace to a country emerging from civil war, but 10 years after his last conflict internal bitter has ended, the cycle continues. Last week, beating fire and bird songs were all sounds too familiar to Abidjan.
For four months, diplomatic efforts have been made to resolve the political stalemate in C?te d'Ivoire, but in vain. When forces assault in Abidjan while trying to remove Laurent Gbagbo by force, the cycle had changed gears once more.
But the power of fire, the conflict was in danger, not for a large part of the becoming entrenched but spiral out of control, with the three million inhabitants of hostage of Abidjan in a blood bath ahead.
Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations for the rights of man Ivan Simonvic, explains the use of heavy weapons by the forces of Mr. Gbagbo against the people of Abidjan was a determining factor in the decisions of the United Nations to expand its mandate.
IVAN SIMONVIC: In Abidjan, we had a situation when the estimated the nursing Chief, between 100 and 200 civilians died because of deliberate heavy artillery targeting. If I am not calculate those who were killed by bullets, but who have been affected by heavy weapons.
At the same time, we also had a number of attacks on the Organization of the United Nations so that the other reason for the reaction of the United Nations is in fact legitimate defence.
GINNY STEIN: Preventive Action by the United Nations seems to show a consensus among the members of the United Nations Security Council, its legal and moral role in the protection of civilians.
Richard Moncrieff, analyst with Institute policy South Africa for Security Studies, said that past failures of the United Nations in Rwanda, Darfur and Bosnia would have had a role to influence the decision to strike.
RICHARD MONCRIEFF: Some of these conflicts where they did not intervene and things turn badly can be read as one of the factors here that people don't want to see this sort of thing repeated.
GINNY STEIN: For four months, the United Nations tried to negotiate a political solution, while its forces on the ground tried to control a situation more and more violent.
Mr. Moncrieff, said the UN was postponed in part by the understanding of Laurent Gbagbo of the weaknesses of the United Nations and the tactics he used to maintain pressure.
RICHARD MONCRIEFF: They did not have much effect in C?te d'Ivoire so far and the reason is that the protagonists and particularly Laurent Gbagbo camp understand very well how to deal with the United Nations, in particular, they tend to put in their way, unarmed civilianswhich is something that the United Nations are very poorly equipped to deal - riots in particular, the urban riots, which the United Nations were not treated well in Ivory Coast over the past 10 years.
So you know, there are reasons for which they have not committed more fully until now, but I think at this stage, you know, there is a risk of reputation at stake for the United Nations, you knowIf it cannot do anything to stop a massacre when it already has troops on the right on the ground in Abidjan, so I think that people would begin to ask questions, you know, what use is it?
GINNY STEIN: But the biggest challenge to the country is what comes next. Life after Laurent Gbagbo will be the biggest challenge in a country that has not only divided but where hate speech has long prevailed between different ethnic populations.
RICHARD MONCRIEFF: The problem of how the country can be regulated and placed under control is going to be extremely difficult. The population of C?te d'Ivoire has been drip fed a speech of hatred for years and years now and it really poisoned relations between the different populations, and it makes it extremely difficult.
GINNY STEIN: The spoils of this war will be a country divided more than ever, an unsolved massacre and legions of combatants who were persuaded to lay down their arms but whose loyalties of Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara.
It's Ginny Stein reports for the corresponding report.
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