United Nations troops continue patrols around Golf Hotel скачать в хорошем качестве

United Nations troops continue patrols around Golf Hotel

(1 Jan 2011) SHOTLIST ++AUDIO AS INCOMING++ 1. Various aerials of Golf Hotel in Abidjan, where internationally recognised Ivory Coast leader Alassane Ouattara is being protected by hundreds of United Nations peacekeepers 2. Various ground shots of UN armoured vehicles with peacekeepers patrolling the hotel 3. Various of UN peacekeepers patrolling hotel on foot 4. Various of UN peacekeepers by the hotel gates 5. Pull focus from close-up of peacekeeper to hotel sign behind him 6. Mid of UN peacekeepers outside the hotel 7. Various of UN peacekeepers holding guns STORYLINE Hundreds of United Nations peacekeeping troops on Saturday continued to protect internationally recognised Ivory Coast leader Alassane Ouattara at a hotel in Abidjan, following last month's disputed presidential election. Incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power despite strong pressure from the international community, has accused world leaders of launching a coup to oust him. Meanwhile, the UN has warned Gbagbo supporters not to attack the Golf hotel where his political rival is being protected by UN peacekeepers. A Gbagbo youth leader has called for Ouattara to leave the hotel by Saturday. By midday (1200 GMT), however, no Gbagbo supporters had shown up at the hotel to contest Ouattara's presence. The United Nations has said that the volatile West African nation once divided in two faces a real risk of return to civil war, but Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, a Ouattara ally, told reporters at a news conference that the country is already at this point - "indeed in a civil war situation." Soro also said that more than 200 people already have been killed and one-thousand others have been wounded by gunfire. Human rights groups accuse incumbent Gbagbo's security forces of abducting and killing political opponents, though Gbagbo allies deny the allegations and say some of the victims were security forces killed by protesters. The UN has confirmed at least 173 deaths. Gbagbo gave an address late on Friday on state television in which he accused the international community of mounting a coup d'etat to oust him and said Ivorians were being subjected to international hostility. The United Nations had been invited by all parties to certify the results of the November 28 presidential runoff vote. The UN declared Alassane Ouattara the winner, endorsing the announcement by the country's electoral commission. But Gbagbo has refused to step aside now for more than a month, defying international condemnation and growing calls for his ouster. The European Union said late on Friday that it had approved sanctions on 59 more people, in addition to 19 already sanctioned last week including Gbagbo and his wife. Gbagbo and about 30 of his allies also face United States travel sanctions, though such measures have typically failed to reverse illegal power grabs in Africa in the past. West African leaders have said they are prepared to use military force to push Gbagbo out, but are giving negotiations more time for now. For many, the credibility of the international community is at stake if it is unable to ensure that Ouattara takes power. A high-level West African delegation is expected to return to Abidjan on Monday. Gbagbo points to Ivory Coast's constitutional council, which declared him president after throwing out more than half a (m) million votes from Ouattara strongholds. The council invalidated election results in those areas, citing violence and intimidation directed at Gbagbo supporters. The top UN envoy in Ivory Coast has disputed that assessment. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...