Ivory Coast: Amnesty warns over rights abuses. Blog 8

Because Ivory Coast’s President, Laurent Gbagbo, has refused to hand over to Alassane Ouattara, widely recognized as the winner of November's poll, tensions in the country have immensely escalated. There have been violent demonstrations in the Abobo district of Abidjan and four African Presidents are in Abidjan to meditate an end to the crisis. Witnesses said soldiers from units loyal to President Gbagbo shot at supporters of Mr Ouattara, killing at least six people. Also, Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore, another member of the African Union panel, cancelled his trip after the pro-Gbagbo militia threatened to attack his convoy, alleging he supported Mr Ouattara. Mr Gbagbo has tried to clamp down on protests by ordering an overnight curfew throughout the country, but the UN says about 500 people, mainly pro-Ouattara supporters, have been killed since the election results were announced at the beginning of December. The BBC's Ivory Coat correspondent John James says it is the last diplomatic attempt to end the stalemate, which has brought the country close to economic collapse. Over the last week all the main commercial banks have closed and business activity is now at a standstill, with few ships now calling at the two main ports after the European Union put them on a sanctions list. Amnesty said it had documented serious human rights abuses in Abidjan and in the west of the country where an estimated 70,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. The people are being robbed, raped, killed, and having their homes destroyed. The world may have shifted from the political stalemate, but the abuses and cruelty are still continuing and more needs to be done about it to protect the innocent people of the country.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12540968