A new Côte d’Ivoire militant group claims it ambushed and killed 27 police and paramilitary forces loyal to the sitting president who refuses to cede power, amid intensified street fighting over the country’s political crisis.
The group which calls itself the “invisible commandos” claimed in a Wednesday statement they captured three officers and seized police vehicles and arms, including rocket launchers and cases of grenades.
A spokesperson for the army, which remains loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, said on Wednesday one police officer was killed and two others went missing when they were ambushed on Tuesday in Abidjan.
Gbagbo’s government has accused members of the New Forces rebels loyal to his opponent Alassane Ouattara of infiltrating the population to attack security forces.
Gunfire and explosions shook Côte d’Ivoire’s main city on Wednesday as forces loyal to Gbagbo pushed back into an area where gunmen backing his presidential rival repelled them a day before, while African Union leaders arrived in the country to mediate between the two leaders.
The clashes between Gbagbo’s forces and backers of Ouattara, following a disputed election in November, threaten to reignite a conflict in the world’s biggest cocoa producer and dash hopes of reuniting a country split by a 2002 to 2003 war. More than 300 people have already been killed since the stand-off. — AFP, Reuters