Seven UN peacekeepers killed in Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN— Seven UN peacekeepers were killed in an ambush Friday in a remote area of southwestern Ivory Coast while trying to protect civilians threatened by attack, and their colleagues are still in danger, the United Nations said.

Bert Koenders, the UN envoy to the West African nation, said the peacekeepers from Niger were part of a patrol south of Tai, in an area near the border with Liberia that the UN mission recently reinforced because of threats of attacks against the civilian population.

It was not immediately clear who attacked the UN troops or if any Ivorian troops they were patrolling with were harmed.

Koenders condemned the attack and said the UN mission “will take all necessary measures following this grave violation of international law.”

A UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the peacekeeping patrol was attacked by a large number of people.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was “outraged” and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice.

The mayor of Tai, Desire Gnonkonte, said hundreds of villagers were fleeing the area following the attack.

Ban told reporters Friday that more than 40 peacekeepers are remaining with villagers to protect them from the armed group. Kieran Dwyer, the spokesman for the UN peacekeeping department, said “we are moving in reinforcements as soon as we have daylight.”

Ivory Coast is recovering from months of violence last year that followed a 2010 election. The vote was won by Alassane Ouattara, but incumbent Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede until defeated by French and UN-backed local forces who supported Ouattara. New York-based Human Rights Watch warned this week that Liberian mercenaries and Ivorian fighters who fought on behalf of Gbagbo in the brief civil war last year were launching attacks on Ivory Coast from Liberia. With files from Reuters