Violence in Côte d’Ivoire, Stalemate at the UNSC

While international attention is focused on Libya, violence has also erupted on the other side of Africa, in Côte D'Ivoire.

Tensions have been steadily rising since the country's incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to step down after challenger Alassane Ouattara was widely recognized as having won November's election. But intense gun battles erupted last weekend, when, according to the New York Times, forces loyal to Gbagbo began an assault to drive Ouattara's fighters out of the Abobo district of Abidjan, the country's financial capital.

The escalation in the fighting has prompted roughly 200,000 people to flee the city, and raises the question of why the international community -- and specifically the U.N. Security Council, whose peacekeeping forces are on the ground -- has failed to take more active measures to quell the violence.

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