A/HRC/16/79
killed and four were seriously injured during the incident. Those arrested were held in
custody at the Prefecture de la police in Plateau, then transferred to the central civilian
prison. They were all subsequently released on 18 January.
C.
Violent suppression of the demonstrations on 16 December 2010
15.
Political violence escalated on 16 December 2010, when RHDP authorities tried to
rally supporters from all over the country to march peacefully towards Abidjan to take over
the building of Radiodiffusion Télévision ivoirienne (RTI) with a view to install the
Director-General appointed by the Ouattara Government. The march was forcefully
repressed by members of the FDS, particularly in Abidjan, Divo, Bondoukou and
Tiébissou, near Yamoussoukro. In Yamoussoukro, a clash between members of the FDS
and the FAFN resulted in several casualties. On the same day, a similar clash between FDS
and FAFN members in Abidjan at the Golf Hotel resulted in at least 10 deaths, including
three FDS soldiers. The FAFN in Bouaké reinforced its troops and advanced to Ngattalikro,
near Yamoussoukro, in the former zone of confidence, to head off a possible FDS attack
from the south.
D.
Call for civil disobedience by the Rassemblement des houphouëtistes
pour la démocratie et la paix
16.
Launched on 18 January 2011, Operation “ghost country”, by which the RHDP
called for civil disobedience across the country, was severely repressed by the FDS from 18
to 20 January in Abidjan, Abengourou, Agnibilébro and Gagnoa. The FDS members
involved in these abuses included soldiers from the CECOS, the CRS, the Brigade antiémeute and the Navy. The FDS aggressively removed barricades erected by RDHP
supporters in the Attécoubé and Adjamé neighbourhoods of Abidjan and in the
Dioulabougou neighbourhood of Gagnoa, and shot indiscriminately at unarmed civilians,
killing nine people, including a 15 year-old boy, and causing injury to 21 others. In
reaction, demonstrators in Gagnoa vandalized nine buses belonging to Société de transport
KS, a private company whose owner had refused to follow the call by RHDP. Three other
people were killed in Agnibilékro by the FDS. The call by RHDP had a negative impact on
the daily life of citizens, especially those working in the health and education sectors.
Several schools were closed, and many patients were deprived of their basic right to
medical care owing to the absence of medical personnel.
17.
The passivity of law enforcement officers, who failed to protect civilians against
various abuses, led to the establishment of self-defence groups to secure certain
neighbourhoods. Local communities also used a warning system consisting of making noise
with sauce pans and other kitchen tools, known as “opération casseroles,” to prevent
killings, abduction and other violations by the FDS or other security agencies.
E.
Abobo PK 18 attacks
18.
On 17 December 2010 and 11 January 2011, FDS soldiers raided Abobo PK 18, a
suburb of Abidjan and a stronghold of President Ouattara’s supporters, where the soldiers
suspected the presence of FAFN members and of dozos (traditional hunters) loyal to him.
On 17 December 2010, they broke into private homes, fired gunshots all night long and
arrested several young men. At least 18 people were reportedly killed in this operation. On
11 January 2011, the FDS once again raided Abobo PK 18. On the pretext of searching for
weapons and dismantling roadblocks erected by the local population, they broke into
several homes, firing live bullets to intimidate residents. Preliminary information from
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