Secretary-General's Humanitarian Envoy for Côte d'Ivoire visits towns in western part of country

(New York, 25 April 2003): Today, Carolyn McAskie, the Secretary-General's Humanitarian Envoy for the Crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, visited the towns of Man and Guiglo in the western part of that country. The United Nations Coordinator for Liberia, Marc Destanne de Bernis, accompanied Ms. McAskie. They visited affected populations and assessed the impact of cross-border conflict.
Tens of thousands of people are believed to be displaced in the west, finding shelter with host families or hiding in the bush. The towns of Guiglo and Duekoue have received thousands of mostly Burkinabe IDPs, who are staying in makeshift IDP transit centers. A steady stream of people continues to flee the sporadic fighting and insecurity in the west.

Ms. McAskie expressed deep concern over reported civilian casualties due to fighting and helicopter attacks. The NGOs MSF and Medecins du Monde have reported that at least 50 civilians claiming to be victims of attacks on 15 April were treated at the Hospital of Man, and at least eight died. The safety of civilians is further jeopardized by unaligned and uncontrolled armed groups in the west. Ms. McAskie also deplored the attack on and subsequent pillaging of the Burulli Ulcer Centre in Zouan-Hounien, close to the border with Liberia, where Catholic priests treated victims of a disfiguring skin disease. "Such indiscriminate targeting of civilians, and of medical facilities, is entirely unacceptable," McAskie said. "The protection of civilians is the over-riding concern."

Since the emergence of the rebel groups MPIGO and MJP in western Cote d'Ivoire in late November 2002, and subsequent fighting there, access to populations in need of humanitarian aid has been prevented. UN staff have been unable to deliver badly needed aid to those in certain inaccessible areas. Humanitarian organisations are also concerned that delivering food and other supplies to those in need could turn them into targets of armed elements.

WFP is now permanently operating out of the inter-agency UN office in Man, where it has begun assessing humanitarian needs and has launched emergency feeding for IDPs and other food insecure/vulnerable groups affected by the crisis, including a school feeding programme. UNICEF has also arrived in the region to begin programmes.

For further information, please call: Jeff Brez, OCHA, Abijan, 225 07 692124