Ivory Coast At The Brink Of Civil War

A view of the bay at Abidjan.

Rebels in the Ivory Coast have pushed south and taken a town formerly held by government loyalists. We reported last week of clashes in the southern port of Abidjan, and now appear to have taken a town in the Dix-huit-montagnes region,  Zouan-Hounien. This small provincial town near the Liberian border is not an important gain in itself, but marks a general escalation of hostilities.

This map (based on a map from Wikipedia) shows the rebel controlled areas in the north of the country, the government held regions in the south, and the "zone de confiance", or ZDC, a military buffer zone that was created in 2007. The Yellow stars mark the recent flashpoints, the red star the location of the town of Zouan-Hounien:

Tensions have been mounting in the Ivory Coast for several months following elections in November 2010 after sitting president Mr Gbagbo refused to accept defeat to Mr Ouattara. At this time of turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East, the UN and the international community must ensure that it doesn't forget the Ivory Coast, a return to war there would be a tragedy.