The General Assembly: Turtle Bay’s roundup of U.N. news

Ivory Coast A top U.S. official claimed Thursday that as many as 200 people have been killed in post-election violence in Ivory Coast as followers of the country’s long-term ruler, Laurent Gbagbo, stepped up a campaign of violence and intimidation to help him cling to power. Pro-Gbagbo gangs were marking the homes of members of ...

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Ivory Coast

A top U.S. official claimed Thursday that as many as 200 people have been killed in post-election violence in Ivory Coast as followers of the country’s long-term ruler, Laurent Gbagbo, stepped up a campaign of violence and intimidation to help him cling to power. Pro-Gbagbo gangs were marking the homes of members of ethnic groups aligned with his opponent, raising concern that they would be targeted in violent attacks.

The spreading violence came as the U.S., France and key African states launched an effort to recruit reinforcements for a U.N. peacekeeping force in Ivory Coast, where some 6,000 Ivoirians fled violence for safety to Liberia. They also sought to bolster the international standing of Ivory Coast’s new leader, Alassane Ouatttara, whose new U.N. envoy was recognized by the world body on Tuesday.

“President Alassane Dramane Ouattar is the legitimately elected leader of Cote d’Ivoire,” said Betty King, the U.S. representative to the U.N. Human Rights Council. Speaking at a special session of the rights commission on Ivory Coast, King said the U.S. has “credible reports that almost 200 people may have already been killed, with dozens more tortured or mistreated, and others have been snatched from their home in the middle of the night." See the rest of my article in the Washington Post.

Diplomatic immunity meets U.S. airport security

India’s U.N. ambassador, Hardeep Singh Puri, ran head first into the Transportation Security Administration’s enhanced airport searches, as a Texas agent demanded he be allowed to inspect the foreign dignitaries turban. The incident underscores the sometimes bumpy relationship between the TSA and foreign delegations traveling to the United States in an era of heightened security. See the rest of my article in the Washington Post

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Colum Lynch was a staff writer at Foreign Policy between 2010 and 2022. Twitter: @columlynch

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