OCHA Situation Report No. 7
Cote d'Ivoire
Period: 13 - 28 March 2003


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Overview

The national reconciliation government called for under the
Linas-Marcoussis peace accord has been formed, but has yet to become an
active, unified governing body as MPCI, MPIGO and MJP ministers have not
attended the first three weekly cabinet meetings - the third was held
Thursday 27 March in Abidjan. In the meantime, the humanitarian situation
on the ground continues to worsen as conditions for populations in
rebel-controlled areas suffer for lack of public services and a strangled
economy, and IDPs, host families and communities in the
government-controlled south face deepening economic, health, and social
pressures. Intensifying violence and instability in the west are causing
grave problems of access to populations desperately in need of
humanitarian assistance.

On 19 March, the ICRC announced that the bodies of four Red Cross Cote
d'Ivoire volunteers, missing since 12 January, had been found and
identified in the western town of Toulepleu. This follows the deaths of
three humanitarian aid workers in eastern Liberia in late February, and
heightens concerns about the security of humanitarian staff in western
Cote d'Ivoire, given the recent increase in activity by armed elements in
the area.

The Saudi Arabian ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire, H.E. Mohamed Ahmed Rachid,
was found dead in the stairwell of the building where he resided in
Abidjan on the morning of 28 March. Riyadh has issued a statement that the
death appears to have been due to natural causes.


Political / Military Context

National

On Wednesday 26 March, SRSG Albert Tevoedjre met with the rebels before
embarking on a regional tour, which includes stops in Accra, Ghana,
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and Cotonou, Benin. Media reports indicate that
Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo has nominated interim defense and
interior ministers, which has lead to protests from the rebel groups.
President Gbagbo issued a statement Friday 28 March urging various youth
and political groups to suspend demonstrations that could jeopardize the
peace process - and to instead add their energies to the peace process.

There were reports of violent activity in western Cote d'Ivoire on Sunday
23 March, in the village of Dah situated roughly between the towns of Man
and Duekoue, in which 42 civilians were reported killed. As has been the
case in similar episodes of violence in violation of the cease-fire over
the last few months, rebels and government forces have traded accusations
over the violence. The fighting and casualties have not been confirmed by
independent sources to date.

ECOMICI (ECOWAS Mission in Cote d'Ivoire) forces this week took over
"front line" cease-fire monitoring positions from the French Operation
Licorne forces in the towns of Daloa, Tiebissou, Prikro and elsewhere in
central Cote d'Ivoire. The French forces moved into back-up positions.


Regional

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Liberia reported that the UN lost
contact with at least 80 UN and NGO aid workers who were working in the
eastern Liberian transit center of Zwedru, in Grand Gedeh County, on the
morning of Thursday 27 March, after the area was allegedly engulfed in a
clash between Liberian government forces and rebel elements. A few of the
missing arrived in the western town of Guiglo in Cote d'Ivoire on Friday
28 March.

Burkina Faso nationals forced to flee into Liberia due to violence in
western Cote d'Ivoire, and unable to cross into Guinea, have reportedly
resorted to hiring boats privately to take them to Ghana, from where they
continue their journeys to Burkina Faso. The government of Ghana and
UNICEF have provided assistance to them upon their arrival.


Security

The curfew in Abidjan has been reduced to 24:00 to 06:00, from 22:00 to
06:00. However, as the effects of the slumping economy are felt, it is
feared that the security situation in Cote d'Ivoire's commercial capital
will deteriorate. Circulation in general remains a point of concern
throughout Government-controlled territory as civilian roadblocks continue
to impede the free passage of goods and services. Circulation in western
areas of the country is extremely dangerous due to sporadic violence and
the presence of various armed elements. Reuters reported that hundreds and
possibly thousands of youth are receiving military training in Abidjan to
defend President Laurent Gbagbo. The national daily 24 Heures reported
this week that the number could be as high as 30,000.

A UNJLC (UN Joint Logistics Centre) civil-military coordinator arrived
this week in Cote d'Ivoire. It is hoped that the coordinator's presence
will aid the humanitarian community in coping effectively with the many
armed elements - friendly and not - operating in the country and ensure
more effective delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to vulnerable
populations, especially in the west where access remains largely
impossible.


Humanitarian Situation & Response

North The continued partitioning of the country continues to take a toll
on the humanitarian situation in northern portions of the country under
MPCI control. UNICEF reports that the situation of children in the
north-eastern districts of Bouna and Bondoukou is " near catastrophic" due
to a breakdown in the health system, including a lack of vaccination
campaigns. UNICEF is sending a convoy of medical supplies in the coming
days to the region. The NGO Africare reports that the northwestern region
of Denguele, where some 30% of the population was already living in
extreme poverty before hostilities broke out on 19 September, has
experienced an increase in the population of the major town, Odienne, by
some 13%. They also report that many people have left the town, notably
non-natives, indicating that sizeable population movements from villages
towards Odienne have taken place. WFP has reported that the large number
of commercial farmers in the northwest who depend on access to southern
markets to sell crops such as cotton, are at high risk of food insecurity.
UNICEF has met with MPCI rebels and received a pledge to disengage child
soldiers from their ranks in their continuing efforts to protect children.
On 18 March the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1467
condemning the proliferation of small arms, mercenary activities and their
link to the phenomenon of child soldiers.

West The west continues to present the greatest concerns to the
humanitarian aid community. Access to the area west of the towns of Guiglo
and Duekoue, including the routes leading to the towns of Toulepleu and
Danane near the border with Liberia, remains extremely dangerous and
unpredictable. Despite the troubling security situation, the UN is moving
ahead with plans to open an inter-agency sub-office in the town of Man
given the urgency of providing assistance to populations there. The NGO
Merlin reported that malnutrition has risen alarmingly among IDP children
in Guiglo and that water supply problems there are seriously affecting
general health conditions for IDPs and refugees alike. UNHCR is concerned
about reports that Liberian refugees are being recruited in Nicla camp,
outside of Guiglo, as well as in the transit centers of Abidjan, sometimes
by force. Continuing violence in the west has prompted tens of thousands
of people, including third country nationals, Ivorians, and Liberian
refugees, to flee both into Liberia, where they are now trapped in
fighting that has broken out in recent days near the town of Zwedru, and
into Government-controlled areas in southern Cote d'Ivoire.

WFP reported this week that there are currently some 37,000 IDPs in the
district of Guiglo, and between 40,000 and 50,000 IDPs in the district of
Duekoue, with little humanitarian assistance available. UN agencies and
NGOs, in cooperation with local authorities, are currently evaluating
sites for the temporary shelter for and the provision of further aid to
IDPs in the town of Guiglo.

MSF has reopened the Regional Hospital in the western town of Man, which
had been closed since December due to fighting and subsequent looting in
the region.


Nation-wide

Health The health situation continues to deteriorate throughout the
country. In the north and west, the interruption of health services and
lack of medical supplies, and in the south the high concentrations of IDPs
in transit centers and with host families, added to rising prices of food
commodities, are rendering ever higher numbers of individuals prone to
communicable diseases. Measles outbreaks among children have so far not
reached epidemic status, thanks to the quick intervention of local
authorities, UNICEF and WHO, in cooperation with NGOs. Over 500 cases of
cholera have been reported in the last two months, with an estimated 20
confirmed deaths having occurred in Abidjan and central Cote d'Ivoire so
far. Given the lack of functioning monitoring structures, it is feared
that many more deaths may be going unreported in rebel held northern and
western areas. The rainy season will be starting soon, and will further
exacerbate the situation.

Education Due to the disruption in the school year for a large number of
children in government and rebel controlled areas, the Ministry of
Education is examining the possibility of introducing a new school year in
May, which would absorb all children who were unable to go to school
because of the ongoing conflict. UNICEF and other partners are exploring
ways to support the initiative by identifying teachers, providing
incentives for the workers, and distributing school supplies. UNICEF is
working in the north to support initiatives that provide educational and
recreational activities for children due to the lack of functioning,
formal education structures.


Resource Mobilisation

The preparation of the CAP for Cote d'Ivoire and the sub-region,
coordinated by OCHA, is in full swing, with the launch tentatively
scheduled for mid-April, at which time the Humanitarian Envoy Carolyn
McAskie is expected to undertake another mission to the region. Given the
grave funding shortfalls for CAP initiatives throughout sub-saharan
Africa, and "in the shadow of the Iraq crisis", the humanitarian community
is faced with the urgent task of maintaining the profile of the West
African crisis among the international community. On a positive note,
UNAIDS has granted Cote d'Ivoire US$92 million to fight the pandemic over
the next five years. Ivory Coast is one of the worst affected countries in
the region with some 6.25% of the population being HIV positive, before 19
September 2002. UNAIDS has reported that studies in other parts of Africa
show that during armed conflict, infection rates can increase by as much
as five-fold.

The latest financial tracking tables can be viewed on-line at any time at
www.reliefweb.int/fts


Information sources include the Integrated Regional Information Network
(IRIN). With the exception of public UN sources, reproduction or
redistribution of the above text, in whole, part or in any form, requires
the prior consent of the original source. This situation report is posted
on www.reliefweb.int, an information resource for humanitarian crises.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact:

Ms. Besida Tonwe, Head of Office tel. +225-2240-5175
Mr. Jeff Brez, Information Officer  tel. +225-2240-5174
e-mail: jeff@ocha.ci


distributed by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International                  web: www.cidi.org
    Disaster Information             listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
comments/suggestions/requests to incident@cidi.org