At least eight people were killed in fighting Saturday in the neighborhood of Abobo, Abidjan, between soldiers loyal to Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and rebels coming out in favor of his rival Alassane Ouattara, a noted journalist of AFP and capita.
Four bodies, riddled with bullets and partially undressed, lay on a road in the popular district of Abobo, a stronghold of supporters of Mr. Ouattara, was found Sunday a journalist from AFP.The victims appeared older than twenty years.
These bodies were seen in the area Dokui Plateau, near the road from the zoo.
A resident encountered on site by the AFP journalist said he saw four other bodies in another neighborhood of Abobo in the area Sodeci, at the southern entrance of Abobo.
The toll could be much higher. Earlier in the morning, next to the church of Sainte-Monique Abobo, a body covered with a large black bag was visible.
A resident also reported the witness encountered by AFP he had seen "in a shallow" Abobo two other bodies.But it was not possible to verify this information immediately.
Ouattara camp on Saturday denounced the "indiscriminate killing" of "innocent civilians", describing the military Operatio, the first major forces led by pro-Gbagbo since the beginning of the post-election crisis in late November, to " attack of despair. "
A large deployment of security forces pro-Gbagbo was seen Sunday morning at the southern entrance of Abobo.
No firing of heavy weapons, however, has been reported in the night and Sunday morning.Life was returning gradually, businesses had reopened, minibuses traveling, people went to church.
Most populous district of Abidjan, in the city with some 1.5 million inhabitants, Abobo became the epicenter of the post-election crisis that has claimed nearly 400 lives in the country according to the UN.
This sharp deterioration of the situation came after the Thursday summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa confirmed that the political deadlock: if the AU has confirmed that she recognized Mr. Ouattara as the elected president, the Gbagbo camp has categorically rejected this position.
