Date:19 September 2002 – 4 March 2007

(4 years, 5 months, 1 week and 6 days)

Location:Ivory Coast

Result

Tentative peace agreement then renewed conflict

Belligerents

Ivory Coast

Liberian mercenaries(backed by U.S.)

Young Patriots of Abidjan militia

New Forces (FN) Rebels /Insurgency

France

UN Peacekeepers

Commanders and leaders

Laurent Gbagbo

YPA militia: Charles Blé Goudé

(FN):Guillaume Soro

Jacques Chirac
Kofi Annan

Casualties and losses:

200+ government soldiers

100+ militias

1,200+ civilians

300+ rebels

13 French soldiers

1 UN peacekeeper

Casualties

French military /

UN peacekeepers

FANCI (Government troops) /

New Forces (FN) rebels /

Young Patriots of Abidjan militia

Dead

13 French Army soldiers,

2 aid workers,

1 UN observer,
1 UN peacekeeper

(Estimated)

200+ FANCI Government troops,

400+ rebels/militia,

1,200+ civilians

Wounded

55

1,500+

The First Ivorian Civil War was a conflict in the Ivory Coast (also known as Côte d'Ivoire) that
began in 1999. Although most of the fighting ended by late 2004, the country remained split in
two, with a rebel-held north and a government-held south. Hostility increased and raids on
foreign troops and civilians rose. As of 2006, the region was tense, and many said the UN and
the French military failed to calm the civil war. Yet notably, the Côte d'Ivoire national football
team was credited with helping to secure a temporary truce when it qualified for the 2006 FIFA
World Cup and brought warring parties together.The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire
began after the civil war calmed, but peacekeepers have faced a complicated situation and are
outnumbered by civilians and rebels. A peace agreement to end the conflict was signed on 4
March 2007. The Ivorian elections took place in October 2010 after being delayed 6 times.
Fighting resumed on 24 February 2011 over the impasse on the election results, with the New
Force rebels capturing Zouan-Hounien, and clashes in Abobo, Yamoussoukro and around
Anyama

Context of the conflict

The civil war revolves around a number of issues, particularly:

■The end of the 33-year presidency of Félix Houphouët-Boigny forced the nation to grapple
with the democratic process for the first time. Houphouët-Boigny had been president for the 33
years since independence, and so the nation's political system was bound tightly to his myth,
charisma, and political and economic competence. The political system was forced to deal with
open, competitive elections without Houphouët-Boigny for the first time in 1993.
 ■The large number of foreigners in Côte d'Ivoire, and Ivorians of somewhat recent foreign
descent, created an important issue of voting rights. 26% of the population was of foreign
origin, particularly from Burkina Faso, a poorer country to the north. Many of these had been
Ivorian citizens for 2 generations or more, and some of them, of Mandinka heritage, can be
considered native to the northern part of what is now known as Côte d'Ivoire. These ethnic
tensions had been suppressed under the strong leadership of Houphouët-Boigny, but surfaced
after his death. The term Ivoirity, originally coined by Henri Konan Bédié to denote the common
cultural identity of all those living in Côte d'Ivoire came to be used by nationalist and
xenophobic politics and press to represent solely the population of the southeastern portion of
the country, particularly Abidjan.

■Discrimination toward people of Burkinabé origin made neighbor countries, particularly

Burkina Faso, fear a massive migration of refugees.

■An economic downturn due to a deterioration of the terms of trade between Third World and
developed countries worsened conditions, exacerbating the underlying cultural and political
issues.

■Unemployment forced a part of the urban population to return to the fields, which they
discovered had been exploited.

Rising tensions

Violence was turned initially against African foreigners. The prosperity of Côte d'Ivoire had
attracted many Africans from West Africa, and by 1998 they constituted 26% of the population,
56% of whom were Burkinabés.

In this atmosphere of increasing racial tension, Houphouët-Boigny's policy of granting

nationality to Burkinabés resident in Côte d'Ivoire was criticized as being solely to gain their
political support.

In 1995, the tensions turned violent when Burkinabés were killed in plantations at Tabou,
during ethnic riots.
Ethnic violence had already existed between owners of lands and their hosts particularly in the
west side of the country, between Bete and Baoule, Bete and Lobi. Since independence, people
from the center of the country, Baoules, have been encouraged to move to fertile lands of the
west and south-west of the country where they have been granted superficialities to grow
cocoa, coffee and comestibles. Years later, some Bete have come to resent these successful
farmers. Voting became difficult for these immigrants as they were refused voting rights.

Catalyst to the conflict

The catalyst for the conflict was the law quickly drafted by the government and approved in a
referendum immediately before the elections of 2000 which required both parents of a
presidential candidate to be born within Côte d'Ivoire. This excluded the northern presidential
candidate Alassane Ouattara from the race. Ouattara represented the predominantly Muslim
north, particularly the poor immigrant workers from Mali and Burkina Faso working on coffee
and cocoa plantations.

Beginning of the civil war

Troops, many of whom originated from the north of the country, mutinied in the early hours of
19 September 2002. They launched attacks in many cities, including Abidjan. By midday they
had control of the north of the country. Their principal claim relates to the definition of who is a
citizen of Ivory Coast (and so who can stand for election as President), voting rights and their
representation in government in Abidjan. On the first night of the uprising, former president
Robert Guéi was killed. There is some dispute as to what actually happened that night. The
government said he had died leading a coup attempt, and state television showed pictures of
his body in the street. However, it was widely claimed that his body had been moved after his
death and that he had actually been murdered at his home along with fifteen other people.
Alassane Ouattara took refuge in the French embassy, and his home was burned down.

Attacks were launched almost simultaneously in most major cities; the government forces
maintained control of Abidjan and the south, but the new rebel forces had taken the north and
based themselves in Bouake.
Laurent Gbagbo considered deserters from the army, supported by interference from Burkina
Faso, as the cause of destabilization.

France wished reconciliation, when the Côte d'Ivoire government wanted military repression.
Eventually France sent 2500 soldiers to man a peace line and requested help from the UN.

Forces involved in the conflict include:

■Official government forces, the National Army (FANCI), also called loyalists, formed and
equipped essentially since 2003

■The Young Patriots: nationalist groups aligned with President Laurent Gbagbo

■Mercenaries recruited by president Gbagbo: ■Belarusians (allegedly)

■Former combatants of Liberia, including under-17 youths, forming the so-called "Lima militia"

■New Forces (Forces Nouvelles, FN), ex-northern rebels, who held 60% of the country

■French military forces: troops sent within the framework of Operation Unicorn and under UN
mandate (UNOCI), 3000 men in February 2003 and 4600 in November 2004;

■Soldiers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), White helmets, also
under the UN.

The rebels were immediately well armed, not least because to begin with most were serving
soldiers; it has been claimed they were also given support by Burkina Faso. Additionally,
government supporters claimed the rebels were supported by France; however, rebels also
denounced France as supporting the government, and French forces quickly moved between
the two sides to stop the rebels from mounting new attacks on the south. It was later claimed
that the rebellion was planned in Burkina Faso by soldiers of the Ivory Coast close to General
Guéï. Guillaume Soro, leader of the Patriotic Movement of Côte d'Ivoire (MPCI) later to be
known as the Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire/New Forces – the rebel movement– comes
from a student union close to the FPI of Gbagbo, but was also a substitute for an RDR candidate
in the legislative elections of 2000. Louis Dacoury Tabley was also one of the leaders of the FPI.
Once they had regrouped in Bouake, the rebels quickly threatened to move southwards to
attack Abidjan again. France deployed the troops it had based in Ivory Coast, on 22 September,
and blocked the rebels' path. The French said they had acted to protect their nationals and
other foreigners, and they went into the northern cities to bring out expatriates from many
nations. The USA gave (limited) support.

On 17 October, a cease-fire was signed, and negotiations started.

On 28 November, the popular Movement of the Ivory Coast of the Great West (MPIGO) and the
Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP), two new rebel movements, took the control of the
towns of Man and Danané, both located in the west of the country. France conducted
negotiations. French troops dispatched to evacuate foreigners battled rebels near Man on 30
November. The clashes left at least ten rebels dead and one French soldier injured.

The cease-fire nearly collapsed on 6 January when two groups of rebels attacked French
positions near the town of Duékoué, injuring nine soldiers, one of them seriously. According to
a French spokesman, French forces repelled the assault and counterattacked, killing 30 rebels.

The Kléber (Marcoussis) agreements

From 15 to 26 January 2003, the various parties met at Linas-Marcoussis in France to attempt to
negotiate a return to peace. The parties signed a compromise deal on 26 January.President
Gbagbo was to retain power and opponents were invited into a government of reconciliation
and obtained the Ministries for Defense and the Interior. Soldiers of the CEDEAO and 4000
French soldiers were placed between the two sides, forming a peace line. The parties agreed to
work together on modifying national identity, eligibility for citizenship, and land tenure laws
which many observers see as among the root causes of the conflict.

As of 4 February, anti-French demonstrations took place in Abidjan, in support for Laurent

Gbagbo. The end of the civil war was proclaimed on 4 July. An attempt at a putsch, organized
from France by Ibrahim Coulibaly, was thwarted on 25 August by the French secret service.
The UN authorized the formation of the UNOCI on 27 February 2004, in addition to the French
forces and those of the CEDEAO.

On 4 March, the PDCI suspended its participation in the government, being in dissension with
the FPI (President Gbagbo's party) on nominations to office within the administration and in
public companies.

On 25 March, a peace march was organized to protest against the blocking of the Marcoussis
agreements. Demonstrations had been prohibited by decree since 18 March, and the march
was repressed by the armed forces: 37 died according to the government, between 300 and
500 according to Henri Konan Bédié's PDCI. This repression caused the withdrawal from the
government of several opposition parties. A UN report of 3 May estimated at least 120 dead,
and implicated highly placed government officials.

The government of national reconciliation, initially composed of 44 members, was reduced to

15 after the dismissal of three ministers, among them Guillaume Soro, political head of the
rebels, on 6 May. That involved the suspension of the participation in the national government
of the majority of political movements.

The French consequently were in an increasingly uncomfortable situation. The two sides each
accused France of siding with the other: the loyalists because of its protection of the rebels, and
the non-implementation the agreements of defense made with the Côte d'Ivoire; the rebels
because it was preventing the capture of Abidjan. On 25 June, a French soldier was killed in his
vehicle by a government soldier close to Yamoussoukro.

On 4 July 2003, the government and New Forces militaries signed an "End of the War"
declaration, recognized President Gbagbo's authority, and vowed to work for the
implementation of the LMA and a program of Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration
(DDR).
In 2004, various challenges to the Linas-Marcoussis Accord occurred. Violent flare-ups and
political deadlock in the spring and summer led to the Accra III talks in Ghana. Signed on 30 July
2004 the Accra III Agreement reaffirmed the goals of the LMA with specific deadlines and
benchmarks for progress. Unfortunately, those deadlines – late September for legislative
reform and 15 October for rebel disarmament – were not met by the parties. The ensuing
political and military deadlock was not broken until 4 November 2004.

The resumption of fighting

The timetable outlined in the final version of the Linas-Marcoussis Accord was not respected.
The bills envisaged in the process were blocked by the FPI, the Ivorian National Assembly. The
conditions of eligibility for the presidential poll were not re-examined, because Laurent Gbagbo
claimed the right to choose a prime minister, not in accordance with agreements suggested in
Accra. Faced with political impasse, the disarmament whose beginning had been envisaged
fifteen days after the constitutional modifications did not begin in mid-October.

A sustained assault on the press followed, with newspapers partial to the north being banned
and two presses destroyed. Dissenting radio stations were silenced.

UN soldiers opened fire on hostile demonstrators taking issue with the disarmament of the
rebels on 11 October. The rebels, who took the name of New Forces (FN), announced on 13
October their refusal to disarm, citing large weapons purchases by the Côte d'Ivoire national
army (FANCI). They intercepted two trucks of the FANCI full of heavy weapons travelling
towards the demarcation line. On 28 October, they declared an emergency in the north of the
country.

Ivorian-French violence

On 4 November, Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo ordered air strikes against rebels, and
Ivorian aircraft began a bombardment of Bouaké. On 6 November, at least one Ivorian Sukhoi
Su-25 bombed a French base in Bouaké, supposedly by accident, killing nine French soldiers and
an American aid worker and injuring 31 others. French forces conducted an overland attack on
Yamassoukro Airport, destroying two Su-25s and three attack helicopters, and two airborne
military helicopters were shot down over Abidjan. One hour after the attack on the camp, the
French Army established control of Abidjan Airport. France flew in reinforcements and put
three jets in Gabon on standby. Simultaneously, the Young Patriots of Abidjan (see politics of
Côte d'Ivoire for more details), rallied by the State media, plundered possessions of French
nationals. Several hundred Westerners, mainly French, took refuge on the roofs of their
buildings to escape the mob, and were then evacuated by French Army helicopters. France sent
in reinforcements of 600 men based in Gabon and France while foreign civilians were
evacuated from Abidjan airport on French and Spanish military airplanes. A disputed number of
rioters were killed after French troops opened fire.

Ending of the conflict: 2005–07

As of 8 November 2004, expatriate Westerners (French mainly, but also Moroccan, German,
Spanish, British, Dutch, Swiss, Canadian, and American) in Côte d'Ivoire chose to leave. On 13
November, President of the Ivorian National Assembly Mamadou Coulibaly (FPI) declared that
the government of the Ivory Coast did not take any responsibility in the bombardment of 6
November, and announced its intention of approaching the International Court of Justice:

■for the destruction of the Ivory Coast Air force, only recently re-equipped;

■for activities by the French Army responsible for several deaths.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Laurent Gbagbo called into question even the French
deaths. Lastly, on the morning of 13 November 2006 expatriate French had returned to France,
and 1600 other European expatriates had left.

The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1572 (2004) on 15 November, enforcing
an arms embargo on the parties.

A meeting of the Ivorian political leaders, moderated by South African President Thabo Mbeki
was held in Pretoria from 3 to 6 April 2005. The resulting Pretoria Agreement declared the
immediate and final cessation of all hostilities and the end of the war throughout the national
territory. Rebel forces started to withdraw heavy weapons from the front line on 21 April.

Presidential elections were due to be held on 30 October 2005, but in September the UN
Secretary General, Kofi Annan, announced that the planned elections could not be held in time.
On 11 October 2005, an alliance of Côte d'Ivoire's main opposition parties called on the UN to
reject African Union proposals to keep President Laurent Gbagbo in office for up to an
additional 12 months beyond the end of his mandate;however, the Security Council approved
this a few days later. The Côte d'Ivoire national football team helped secure a truce in 2006
when it qualified for the World Cup and convinced Gbagbo to restart peace talks. It also helped
further reduce tensions between government and rebel forces in 2007 by playing a match in
the rebel capital of Bouaké, an occasion that brought both armies together peacefully for the
first time. In late 2006, the elections were again delayed, this time until October 2007.

On 4 March 2007, a peace agreement was signed between the government and the New Forces
in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. New Forces leader Guillaume Soro was subsequently appointed
prime minister and took office in early April. On 16 April, in the presence of Gbagbo and Soro,
the UN buffer zone between the two sides began to be dismantled, and government and New
Forces soldiers paraded together for the first time. Gbagbo declared that the war was over.

On 19 May, the disarmament of pro-government militia began as the Resistance Forces of the
Great West gave up over a thousand weapons in a ceremony in Guiglo, at which Gbagbo was
present.

Central government administration began returning to the New Forces-held areas in June, with
the first new prefect in the north being installed on 18 June in Bouaké.

On 29 June, rockets were fired at Soro's plane at the airport in Bouaké, significantly damaging
the plane. Soro was unhurt, although four others were said to have been killed and ten were
said to have been wounded.

Gbagbo visited the north for the first time since the outbreak of the war for a disarmament
ceremony, the "peace flame", on 30 July; Soro was also present. This ceremony involved
burning weapons to symbolize the end of the conflict. It was previously planned for 30 June and
then for 5 July, but was delayed. At the ceremony, Gbagbo declared the war over and said that
the country should move quickly to elections, which were planned for 2008.
On 27 November 2007, Gbagbo and Soro signed another agreement in Ouagadougou, this one
to hold the planned election before the end of June 2008. On 28 November, Gbagbo flew to
Korhogo, then to Soro's native Ferkessedougou, at the start of a three-day visit to the far north,
the first time he had been to that part of the country since the outbreak of the war, marking
another step toward reconciliation. On 22 December, a disarmament process planned to take
place over the course of three months began with government soldiers and former rebels
withdrawing from their positions near what had been the buffer zone; the forces of the two
sides respectively went to barracks in Yamoussoukro and Bouaké. Gbagbo and Soro were
present at Tiébissou to mark the event; Gbagbo said that, as a result, the front lines of the
conflict no longer existed, and Soro said that it "effectively, concretely marks the beginning of
disarmament".

UN Peacekeeping Forces UNOCI

As of 18 May 2005 the UN forces, as result of the continued flaring up of ethnic as well as rebel-
government conflict, have experienced difficulty maintaining peace in the supposedly neutral
"confidence zone", particularly in the west of the country. UN troops have been deployed
laterally, forming a belt across the middle of Côte d'Ivoire (stretching across the whole country
and roughly dividing it in two from north to south). This area has a mixture of ethnic groups,
notably the Dioula (who are predominantly Muslim and typically aligned with the New Forces),
who typically sway to both government and rebel loyalties. This conflict of interests has created
widespread looting, pillaging and various other human rights abuses amongst groups based on
the typical political alignment of their ethnicity. A total of 25 UN personnel have died during
UNOCI.

In 2005, over 1,000 protesters invaded a UN base in Guiglo and took control but were forced
back by armed UN peacekeepers. A total of 100 protesters died and left 1 UN peacekeeper
dead and another wounded.

This is not to say that there are no regions where ethnic groups co-exist peacefully, however,
the UN troops lack the man-power to prevent inter-ethnic violence.
On 21 July 2007 the UNOCI suspended a Moroccan peacekeeping unit in Ivory Coast following
an investigation into allegations of widespread sexual abuse committed by UN peacekeepers in
the nation.

Violent resurgence after the presidential elections

The presidential elections that should have been organized in 2005 were postponed until
October 2010. The preliminary results announced by the Electoral Commission showed a loss
for Gbagbo in favor of his rival, former prime minister Alassane Ouattara. The ruling FPI
contested the results before the Constitutional Council, charging massive fraud in the northern
departments controlled by the rebels of the Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire (FNCI). These
charges were contradicted by international observers. The report of the results led to severe
tension and violent incidents. The Constitutional Council, which consists of Gbagbo supporters,
declared the results of seven northern departments unlawful and that Gbagbo had won the
elections with 51% of the vote (instead of Ouattara winning with 54%, as reported by the
Electoral Commission). After the inauguration of Gbagbo, Ouattara, recognized as the winner by
most countries and the United Nations, organized an alternative inauguration. These events
raised fears of a resurgence of the civil war. The African Union sent Thabo Mbeki, former
President of South Africa, to mediate the conflict. The UN Security Council adopted a common
resolution recognising Alassane Ouattara as winner of the elections, based on the position of
the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOWAS suspended Côte d'Ivoire
from all its decision-making bodies while the African Union also suspended the country's
membership. On 16 December an appeal from Ouattara to his supporters to march to Abidjan,
the economic capital of the country, and seize some government buildings, led to severe
clashes leaving many casualties. In Tiébissou, there were reports of fighting between rebel
forces and the Ivorian army.

Clashes between Laurent Gbagbo's and the New Force rebels occurred in the western town of
Teapleu on 24 February 2011. Clashes were reported in Abidjan, Yamoussoukro and around
Anyama by the 25 February with the town of Zouan-Hounien being captured from government
forces in a morning attack on 25 February. By the end of March, Northern forces had taken
Bondoukou and Abengourou in the east, Daloa, Duekoue, and Gagnoa in the west, the main
western port of San Pédro, and the capital Yamoussoukro, for control of three quarters of the
country. Southern forces supposedly loyal to Gbagbo have so far not been willing to fight, and
Northern forces have won every battle they have fought.
UN Security Council Resolution 1975

The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975 imposed international sanctions on the
territory run by Laurent Gbagbo's regime.