“Everyone here has been targetting civilians to some extent” – BBC on Ivory Coast

The BBC’s Andrew Harding reports from Ivory Coast, whose violent conflict was recently raised in Parliament by Simon Hughes.

The BBC reports:

I’m walking down the street here in Duekoue and there are bodies all around me. They’re being brought out by Red Cross workers, pulling them out of the bushes, they’re being wrapped in plastic.

I’ve seen 30-40 already, and that’s just a fraction of what they’ve collected over the past few days.

They’re taking the bodies to a mass grave that they’re just digging now nearby.

The situation in the town remains very unstable. It’s held now by Alassane Ouattara’s forces – we’ve been talking to a lot of them. They deny any role in these atrocities.

We understand that at a church where thousands of civilians are taking shelter there has been more friction, more instability. The UN is rushing there now to see if they can prevent more trouble.

Alassane Ouattara is recognised by the international community as the winner of November’s Presidential elections, the loser in which has refused to leave office.

In a live interview on rolling news, Andrew Harding added that, “Everyone here has been targetting civilians to some extent”. The UN has been evacuating its staff, whilst the French armed forces have been strengthened by another 300 soldiers and have taken control of the main airport to ensure that evacuations can continue.