14 Jun 2012

COTE D’IVOIRE / MEMORIAL

A ceremony was held in Abidjan today to pay tribute to the seven United Nations peacekeepers from Niger who died in an ambush in the west of Côte d’Ivoire last Friday. ONUCI

Posted at: June 14, 2012 6:59 pm

Duration: 02:27

Available in: SD

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STORY: COTE D'IVOIRE / MEMORIAL
TRT: 2.27
SOURCE: ONUCI
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / NATS

DATELINE: 14 JUNE 2012, ABIDJAN SEBROKO, COTE D'IVOIRE

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot, monitoring helicopter above the ceremony place
2. Various shots, decoration of coffins by the Bangladeshi contingent
3. Various shots, arrival of the presidential delegation accompanied by Under-Secretary-General Herve Ladsous
4. Med shot, honor guard contingent of Niger
5. Wide shot, caskets being carried by peacekeepers
7. SOUNDBITE (French) Hervé Ladsous, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations:
"Seven young great men mowed down in fulfilling their mission, a mission to which they sacrificed everything, starting with their lives, and I would like to reiterate to you Mr. President, and you Mr. Minister of Education of Niger, the deep sympathy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Mr. Ban Ki Moon, who was deeply shocked  by this tragedy."
8. Wide shot, caskets lined up before the delegation
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Hervé Ladsous, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations:
"We expect that the perpetrators will be apprehended and that justice will be done."
10. Med shot, caskets lined up before the delegation
11. SOUNDBITE (French) President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d'Ivoire:
"In front of these coffins covered by the flag of the United Nations, I bow in the name of the entire nation."
12. Med shot, peacekeepers marching past caskets

STORYLINE:

At a memorial ceremony in Côte d'Ivoire, the head of United Nations peacekeeping today (14 June) paid tribute to seven 'blue helmets' killed in the line of duty while on patrol in the country's south-west last week.

The seven peacekeepers, from the Niger Battalion serving with the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), had been patrolling near the village of Para, close to the town of Tai near the shared border with Liberia, on Friday, 8 June, when they were ambushed by unidentified armed elements.

Part of a larger group, the peacekeepers were deployed in the area in response to concerns about the safety of local residents.

Speaking at the ceremony at UNOCI's headquarters in Abidjan, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, said the seven 'blue helmets' made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of peace.

He conveyed the deepest sympathy of Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who he said had been deeply shocked by the tragedy, and expressed the hope that those responsible for the ambush will be brought to justice.

Also in attendance at the ceremony were Côte d'Ivoire's President Alassane Ouattara, along with the head of the Ivorian Armed Forces and Government officials, as well as Niger's Minister of Higher Education, Mamadou Youba Diallo.

President Ouattara extended his recognition and respect in the name of the entire Ivoirian nation.

With the cooperation of the neighbouring UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), UNOCI has launched an investigation into the circumstances of the attack. UNMIL has previously voiced serious concern about the continued instability in the border areas between the two countries.

In a statement issued yesterday, the UN Independent Expert on the human rights situation in Côte d'Ivoire, Doudou Diène, said that the attack has generated thousands of internally displaced persons in Tai and an influx of refugees in UN camps in Liberia.

UNOCI was established in 2004 by the Security Council to facilitate the peace process in the country, which was split by civil war in 2002 into a rebel-held north and Government-controlled south.

The mission, whose current mandate runs until 31 July, is currently tasked with assisting the country tackle the many challenges it faces in the wake of the violence that followed presidential elections in late 2010 and the electoral crisis that finally ended in April 2011. These include the restoration of law and order, national reconciliation, the holding of legislative elections, and economic recovery.