Côte d’Ivoire: Is Foreign Intervention Legal? · Global Voices
Julie Owono

This post is part of our special coverage Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011
The struggle for power in Côte d'Ivoire may soon reach its conclusion in Abidjan, where The Republican Forces (FRCI) loyal to Alassane Ouattara have started an offensive against the positions controlled by forces of Laurent Gbagbo on Monday April 4. Both men claim rights to the presidency, after a disputed election in November 2010, but Ouattara is internationally recognized to have won.
As the assault began to force the ouster of Gbagbo, the involvement of foreign forces, officially as a measure of protection for civilians, was brought up and debated at length on the web.
Screenshot from citizen video (below) showing bombardment in Abidjan from a distance (April 4, 2011)
Earlier in the afternoon, Choi Young-jin, special representative of the UN Secretary General in Ivory Coast, told the BBC that United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) would intervene in Abidjan. He said:
We are planning action, we can no longer condone their [Mr Gbagbo's forces] reckless and mindless attack on civilians and the United Nations blue helmets with heavy artillery.
The Twitter account of the French Presidential Office confirmed:
@Elysée: Conformément à son mandat, l'#ONUCI vient d'engager des actions visant à neutraliser les armes lourdes contre les populations civiles.
@Elysée: Le Secrétaire général des Nations Unies a demandé le soutien des forces françaises à ces opérations.
@Elysée: Le Président #Sarkozy a répondu positivement à la demande & autorisé les forces françaises à participer aux opérations conduites par l'ONUCI.
Witnessing the intervention
According to @Lord225 on Twitter, the operation began at 5.22 pm GMT:
@Lord225: L'assaut est effectif, 17h22 bombardement de plusieurs positions du camp gbagbo, épaisse fumée dans l'air #civ2010
Soon after the announcement of the beginning of the operation, Ivorian netizens said they sighted military equipment of the type used by French Special Forces. Israël Yoroba, an Ivorian journalist, currently a correspondent for TV5 Monde in Abidjan, posted on his Twitter account:
Je confirme que les camps d'Akouédo sont en train d'être pillonés par deux hélico. 1 Puma et 1 Mi 24. Faites le savoir au monde entier
A puma is one of the standard assault helicopters used by French Special Forces, as this video posted on Dailymotion shows.
Yoroba invited inhabitants of Abidjan to leave their testimonies on his Facebook Page on the current situation:
Pendant que que la force française bombarde à Abidjan, des populations racontent en direct comment elles vivent ces tirs http://lnp.sn/Zwj
Here are some reactions:
Sedrick Ngotta who is in Abidjan says:
Je confirme c est pas les rebel mais les blancs qui nous pillone oh mon dieu!
Peter Zéphirin Wahi in Abidjan confirms:
Bombardements des helicos des forces licornes du camp d'akouédo, et l'onuci vient de tirer sur la residence du Chef de l'Etat à cocody et la Présidence au plateau à partir d'helico.
On YouTube AfricaWeWish posted a video showing what they describe as “the bombardment of the Akouédo camp by UNOCI and French forces”:
MLDoss1 also shared a video shot near the Akouédo camp:
Reactions to foreign involvement
From all over Africa, netizens commented on this international intervention :
On the Facebook Page of “La majorité Présidentielle” (Gbagbo's political party), which is “liked” by 7,231 individuals, people describe how ready they are to fight for their country.
Vakaba Diaby:
j'ai pu me rendre près d'un camp et j'ai suivi et subi les bombardements, mais ma foi en la victoire de la Côte d'Ivoire ne fait que grandir
Anicet Bidza who lives in France adds:
Nous devons nous mobiliser ici en France pour interpeller l'opinion publique Française!!! Ce qui se passe est extrêmement grave et le silence assourdissant des autres pays Africains est un crime contre la cote d'ivoire!!!
On the Twitter hashtag #civ2010, dedicated to news on Côte d'Ivoire, some share their doubts on the benefit of this international involvement:
Kaya-Mangan Cissé says:
@freerci: Je suis pour le depart de Gbagbo mais contre l'intervention de la france et de l'ONU.
Is it legal?
Bruno Ben Moubamba, a Gabonese politician, former candidate to the 2009 presidential election in Gabon, wrote on his blog [fr] on April 4, 2011 that Nicolas Sarkozy was committing an act of war in violation of international law. French Armed Forces have been stationed in Côte d'Ivoire as part of a peacekeeping operation called, Operation Unicorn (Opération Licorne) since the beginning of the Ivorian Civil War from 2002-2007. Moubamba writes that two United Nations resolutions recalled the use of heavy artillery on the civilian population by these forces, specifically United Nations Resolution 1726 of November 1, 2006 and Resolution 1975 (PDF) of March 30, 2011.
He concludes that the French government exceeded the mandate of Operation Unicorn by intervening with bombardments in Abidjan:
Il s’agit ni plus, ni moins, de la part de la Présidence de Nicolas Sarkozy, d’UN ACTE GRAVE d’Agression. Cet acte engage à son insu le peuple français
This post is part of our special coverage Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011