Ivory Coast

West African bloc prepares to send troops into Mali and Guinea-Bissau

Two separate military coups in Mali and Guinea-Bissau threaten the stability of the region. But will an intervention by ECOWAS actually resolve these conflicts or just complicate them?

Cote d'Ivoire's commitment to democratic principles questioned

Residents of areas hit hardest by the 2010 post-election violence are demanding redress and accountability. President Ouattara must commit to justice and reconciliation, writes a guest blogger.

Should Ivory Coast nationalize its cocoa industry?

Nationalizing Ivory Coast's cocoa industry – as neighboring Ghana did – would bring 'sanity and equity' to the country, writes guest blogger G. Pascal Zachary.

West Africa Rising: Ivory Coast to begin exporting cocoa again soon

After a brief civil war that killed hundreds, Ivory Coast – the world's No. 1 producer of cocoa – will begin exporting the crop again. But has the country lost its edge to neighboring Ghana?

Ivory Coast, Libya highlight growing rift between Africa and the West

Many African leaders share China's viewpoint that national sovereignty is more important than human rights and democracy.

EU and France to inject $840 million to jumpstart Ivory Coast economy

Most of the aid – $540 million – will come from France, the former colonial power in Ivory Coast, 'to finance emergency spending on the population.'

Alassane Ouattara begins difficult task of reuniting, rebuilding Ivory Coast

Alassane Ouattara, Ivory Coast's new president, must tread carefully as he works to disarm militias, defuse long-simmering hatreds.

Why Ivory Coast's economic comeback could be brisk

Three economists interviewed by The Christian Science Monitor forecast Ivory Coast's annual economic growth to accelerate to an impressive 6 to 7 percent toward the end of 2011.

Ivory Coast's Gbagbo arrested, ending months-long standoff

Forces loyal to president-elect Ouattara stormed former president Gbagbo's bunker Monday and arrested him, ending the political standoff but not necessarily the violence between their supporters.

Liberian mercenaries detail their rampages in western Ivory Coast

Hundreds of battled-hardened Liberian fighters are adding to a messy ethnic conflict brewing in western Ivory Coast that security experts warn could spread across the region's porous borders.

War in western Ivory Coast could outlast presidential battle in Abidjan

Forces loyal to both sides in Ivory Coast's presidential dispute recently attacked civilians in ethnically motivated killings in the country's west, according to a report by Human Rights Watch in New York.

Ivory Coast fighting sparks fresh influx of refugees in Liberia

More than 120,000 people have fled Ivory Coast for neighboring Liberia to escape the violence in their home country. Oxfam warn that their living conditions are 'dangerously inadequate.'

As Ivory Coast's Gbagbo refuses to surrender, French rescue Japan ambassador

The French rescue was requested by the UN and Japanese after incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo's fighters broke into the ambassador's home.

Gbagbo on his way out? Ivory Coast violence dying down? Not so fast.

Renegade President Laurent Gbagbo is surrounded in his presidential bunker, but it would be a mistake, analysts say, to assume the end of his rule means the end of violence in Ivory Coast.

In Ivory Coast, a hospital keeps receiving wounded - but supplies run short

The security situation is preventing the Abobo hospital from replenishing its medical supplies and the wounded from leaving their homes to seek medical treatment.

Five key reasons Ivory Coast's election led to civil war

Ivory Coast’s long-anticipated Nov. 28 presidential election was meant to help the country move beyond its deep divisions.

Instead, the vote fueled a political stalemate that sucked the country back into civil war.More than four months after voters elected President Alassane Ouattara, renegade incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo still refuses to step down even though rebel forces have now confined him to a bunker beneath the presidential residence.

Hundreds of Ivorians have died in increasingly heavy fighting that included attacks this week by the United Nations and France.

How did a simple vote turn into this? There are a number of reasons that go back years, even decades.

Ivory Coast crisis appears hours from end as troops enter Gbagbo's palace

Forces loyal to Ivory Coast President-elect Alassane Ouattara have stormed the presidential palace and pledged to capture former President Laurent Gbagbo, a day after negotiations for Gbagbo's surrender broke down.

Why moves to cut off Gbagbo's funds couldn't prevent war in Ivory Coast

President-elect Alassane Ouattara's plan was to rally the international community to cut off Ivory Coast's finances so renegade incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo would be forced to surrender.

Ivory Coast's Gbagbo may be considering surrender

Overnight attacks by the UN and France on the residence of renegade president Gbagbo have empowered the forces of elected President Ouattara and reportedly brought Gbago to the brink of surrendering.

Gbagbo plays 'ugly colonialist' card as France intervenes in Ivory Coast

French-speaking Ivory Coast has long had close ties to its former colonial power. But relations have deteriorated under strongman Laurent Gbagbo.

Ivory Coast's besieged city of Abidjan braces for impending attack

A brief lull in fighting on Sunday allowed UN peacekeepers and French forces in Ivory Coast to evacuate UN personnel and French citizens, as forces loyal to President-elect Alassane Ouattara prepared for assault on Abidjan.

Ivory Coast's pro-Ouattara forces storm presidential palace

Rights groups warn that civilian casualties could be high as forces loyal to President-elect Alassane Ouattara surround the residence of incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan.

In Ivory Coast, Gbagbo's forces defect en masse: reports

Forces loyal to Ivory Coast's renegade President Laurent Gbagbo appeared ready to combat Thursday's lightning-quick rebel advance. Instead, thousands seem to have defected.

High-level defections, UN sanctions signal possible end for Ivory Coast stalemate

A top Ivorian general has sought refuge with South African embassy, and forces loyal to President-elect Alassane Ouattara have reached outskirts of Abidjan. Will renegade President Gbagbo fight to the bitter end?

Ivory Coast's conflict and Rwanda's genocide: Key differences

Ivory Coast bears some similarities to Rwanda in 1994, but there are a number of factors that make it unlikely Ivory Coast's conflict will develop into a genocide like Rwanda's.