Yamoussoukro, Mar 4 (ANI): Seven women have been killed in Ivory Coast's commercial capital, Abidjan, when security forces opened fired at peace protestors, with many analysts saying that the country could come into the grip of a civil war.
Over 200,000 people have fled, and the nation that was once a model of stability in West Africa is now experiencing bloodshed and economic meltdown, The Guardian reports.
Some of the deadliest clashes have reportedly taken place during three months of crisis.
The paper quoted a source as saying that the protestors were about to set off from a roundabout on a march to call on Laurent Gbagbo to step down as president, adding: "Men in uniform drove up and started shooting randomly. Six women died on the spot." He also said that a seventh had died in hospital, while many others were wounded.
Although officials have not commented as of now, a military source confirmed the shooting, saying: "It was a blunder that we regret. It is unfortunate." He said that security forces believe rebels sometimes hide among civilians.
According to the United Nations (UN), at least 365 people have died since November's election, nearly all supporters of Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised winner.
The UN, other organisations and analysts have warned that the country could return to civil war, as in 2002-3, which divided the north and south.
"You have a situation that could erupt into civil war. But it could also be a stalemate that continues, which makes Ouattara the big loser. The advantage Ivory Coast has over many other countries in this situation is the presence of 9,000 UN peacekeepers who could maintain the partition," Adekeye Adebajo, the executive director of the Centre for Conflict Resolution at Cape Town University, warned.
However, Issaka Souare, a senior researcher for the Africa conflict prevention programme at South Africa's Institute of Security Studies, said that: "You cannot predict what the outcome will be. Civil war is not inevitable but it's very likely, depending on how the mediation process will go." (ANI)
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