CĂte dIvoire - 05 Apr 2011 UN Helicopters Firing Missiles at Gbagbo Military Camp in Abidjan

Description: UN helicopters fire four missiles at a Gbagbo military camp in Abidjan, destroying them at four places where they had been shelling civilians, a UN spokesman said. "We saw two UN MI-24 helicopters fire missiles on the Akouedo military camp. There was a massive explosion and we can still see the smoke," one witnesses said. The camp is home to three battalions of the Ivorian army The second Ivorian civil war broke out in March 2011 when the ongoing crisis in CÎte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) escalated into full-scale military conflict between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, the President of CÎte d'Ivoire since 2000, and supporters of the internationally recognised president-elect Alassane Ouattara. After months of unsuccessful negotiations and sporadic violence between supporters of the two sides, the crisis entered a critical stage as Ouattara's forces seized control of most of the country, with Gbagbo entrenched in Abidjan, the country's largest city. International organizations have reported numerous instances of human rights violations by both sides, in particular in the city of Duékoué. The UN and French forces recently took military action, with the stated objective to protect their forces and civilians. Duékoué massacre: According to Guillaume N'Gefa, spokesman for the UN mission in CÎte d'Ivoire, 330 people had been killed in Duékoué as Ouattara's forces took over the town, More than 100 of them were killed by Gbagbo's troops. However, N'Gefa said the majority were