Ivorian Civil War

In the early hours of 19 September 2002, while the President was in Italy, there was an armed uprising. Troops who were to be demobilized mutinied, launching attacks in several cities. The battle for the main gendarmerie barracks in Abidjan lasted until mid-morning, but by lunchtime the government forces had secured the main city, Abidjan. They had lost control of the north of the country, and the rebel forces made their stronghold in the northern city of Bouake. The rebels threatened to move on Abidjan again and France deployed troops from its base in the country to stop any rebel advance. The French said they were protecting their own citizens from danger, but their deployment also aided the government forces. It was not established as a fact that the French were helping either side but each side accused them of being on the opposite side. It is disputed as to whether the French actions improved or worsened the situation in the long term.

What exactly happened that night is disputed. The government claimed that former president Robert Guéï had led a coup attempt, and state TV showed pictures of his dead body in the street; counter-claims stated that he and fifteen others had been murdered at his home and his body had been moved to the streets to incriminate him. Alassane Ouattara took refuge in the French embassy; his home had burned down.

President Gbagbo cut short his trip to Italy and on his return stated, in a television address, that some of the rebels were hiding in the shanty towns where foreign migrant workers lived. Gendarmes and vigilantes bulldozed and burned homes by the thousands, attacking the residents.

An early ceasefire with the rebels, which had the backing of much of the northern populace, proved short-lived, and fighting over the prime cocoa-growing areas resumed. France sent in troops to maintain the cease-fire boundaries and militias, including warlords and fighters from Liberia and Sierra Leone, took advantage of the crisis to seize parts of the west.

The presidential election led to the 2010-2011 Ivorian crisis and to the Second Ivorian Civil War. After months of unsuccessful negotiations and sporadic violence, the crisis entered a critical stage as Ouattara's forces seized control of most of the country, with Gbagbo entrenched in Abidjan, the country's largest city. International organizations reported numerous instances of human rights violations by both sides. In the city of Duékoué, hundreds of people were estimated to have been killed, predominantly by advancing pro-Ouattara militias. In nearby Blolequin, dozens of people were killed, reportedly by retreating Liberian mercenaries who had been hired by pro-Gbagbo forces. UN and French forces took military action against Gbagbo. Gbagbo was taken into custody after a raid into his residence on 11 April. It was initially thought he was captured by French forces, however Ouattara's envoy to the UN claimed it was their forces who captured him, and the French deny any involvement in his arrest.

The First Ivorian civil war

The First Ivorian Civil War was a conflict in the Ivory Coast (also known as Côte d'Ivoire) that began on September 19th, 2002. Although most of the fighting ended by late 2004, the country remained split in two, with a rebel-held north and a government-held south. Hostility increased and raids on foreign troops and civilians rose. As of 2006, the region was tense, and many said the UN and the French military failed to calm the civil war. Yet notably, the Côte d'Ivoire national football team was credited with helping to secure a temporary truce when it qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and brought warring parties together. The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire began after the civil war calmed, but peacekeepers have faced a complicated situation and are outnumbered by civilians and rebels. A peace agreement to end the conflict was signed on 4 March 2007.^] The Ivorian elections took place in October 2010 after being delayed 6 times. Fighting resumed on 24 February 2011 over the impasse on the election results, with the New Force rebels capturing Zouan-Hounien, and clashes in Abobo, Yamoussoukro and around Anyama

Beginning of the civil war

Troops, many of whom originated from the north of the country, mutinied in the early hours of 19 September 2002. They launched attacks in many cities, including Abidjan. By midday they had control of the north of the country. Their principal claim relates to the definition of who is a citizen of Ivory Coast (and so who can stand for election as President), voting rights and their representation in government in Abidjan. On the first night of the uprising, former president Robert Guéi was killed. There is some dispute as to what actually happened that night. The government said he had died leading a coup attempt, and state television showed pictures of his body in the street. However, it was widely claimed that his body had been moved after his death and that he had actually been murdered at his home along with fifteen other people. Alassane Ouattara took refuge in the French embassy, and his home was burned down.
Attacks were launched almost simultaneously in most major cities; the government forces maintained control of Abidjan and the south, but the new rebel forces had taken the north and based themselves in Bouake.
Laurent Gbagbo considered deserters from the army, supported by interference from Burkina Faso, as the cause of destabilization.
France wished reconciliation, when the Côte d'Ivoire government wanted military repression. Eventually France sent 2500 soldiers to man a peace line and requested help from the UN.
Forces involved in the conflict include:

• Official government forces, the National Army (FANCI), also called loyalists, formed and equipped essentially since 2003
• The Young Patriots: nationalist groups aligned with President Laurent Gbagbo
• Mercenaries recruited by president Gbagbo:
• Belarusians (allegedly)
• Former combatants of Liberia, including under-17 youths, forming the so-called "Lima militia"
• New Forces (Forces Nouvelles, FN), ex-northern rebels, who held 60% of the country
• French military forces: troops sent within the framework of Operation Unicorn and under UN mandate (UNOCI), 3000 men in February 2003 and 4600 in November 2004;
• Soldiers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), White helmets, also under the UN.

The rebels were immediately well armed, not least because to begin with most were serving soldiers; it has been claimed they were also given support by Burkina Faso. Additionally, government supporters claimed the rebels were supported by France; however, rebels also denounced France as supporting the government, and French forces quickly moved between the two sides to stop the rebels from mounting new attacks on the south. It was later claimed that the rebellion was planned in Burkina Faso by soldiers of the Ivory Coast close to General Guéï. Guillaume Soro, leader of the Patriotic Movement of Côte d'Ivoire (MPCI) later to be known as the Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire/New Forces – the rebel movement– comes from a student union close to the FPI of Gbagbo, but was also a substitute for an RDR candidate in the legislative elections of 2000. Louis Dacoury Tabley was also one of the leaders of the FPI.
Once they had regrouped in Bouake, the rebels quickly threatened to move southwards to attack Abidjan again. France deployed the troops it had based in Ivory Coast, on 22 September, and blocked the rebels' path. The French said they had acted to protect their nationals and other foreigners, and they went into the northern cities to bring out expatriates from many nations. The USA gave (limited) support.
On 17 October, a cease-fire was signed, and negotiations started.
On 28 November, the popular Movement of the Ivory Coast of the Great West (MPIGO) and the Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP), two new rebel movements, took the control of the towns of Man and Danané, both located in the west of the country. France conducted negotiations. French troops dispatched to evacuate foreigners battled rebels near Man on 30 November. The clashes left at least ten rebels dead and one French soldier injured.
The cease-fire nearly collapsed on 6 January when two groups of rebels attacked French positions near the town of Duékoué, injuring nine soldiers, one of them seriously. According to a French spokesman, French forces repelled the assault and counterattacked, killing 30 rebels.

First Ivorian civil war

Date: 19 September2002- 4 March 2007

          (4 years,5 months,1 week and 6 days)

Location: Ivory Coast 

Casualties and losses
1.200+ government soldiers 2.100+militias 3.1,200+ civilians	300+rebels	1. 13  French soldiers 2. 1 UN peacekeeper

Commanders and leaders
1.Laurent Gbagbo(IC) 2.Charles Ble Goude(YPA militia)	Guillaume Soro(FN)	Kofi Annan(UN)

 Result:

      Tentative peace agreement then renewed conflict

The second Ivorian civil war

The Second Ivorian Civil War broke out in March 2011 when the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) escalated into full-scale military conflict between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, the President of Côte d'Ivoire since 2000, and supporters of the internationally recognised president-elect Alassane Ouattara. After months of unsuccessful negotiations and sporadic violence between supporters of the two sides, the crisis entered a critical stage as Ouattara's forces seized control of most of the country, with Gbagbo entrenched in Abidjan, the country's largest city. International organizations have reported numerous instances of human rights violations by both sides, in particular in the city of Duékoué. The UN and French forces took military action, with the stated objective to protect their forces and civilians. Ouattara's forces arrested Gbagbo at his residence on 11 April.

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A civil war was fought in Côte d'Ivoire between 2002–04 between the incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo and the rebel Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire (New Forces), representing Muslim northerners who felt that they were being discriminated against by the politically dominant and mostly Christian southerners.
  In 2002 France sent its troops to Côte d'Ivoire (Operation Unicorn) as peacekeepers. In February 2004 the United Nations established the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) "to facilitate the implementation by the Ivorian parties of the peace agreement signed by them in January 2003". Most of the fighting ended by late 2004, with the country split between a rebel-held north and a government-held south. In March 2007 the two sides signed an agreement to hold fresh elections, though they ended up being delayed until 2010, five years after Gbagbo's term of office was supposed to have expired.

 After northern candidate Alassane Ouattara was declared the victor of the 2010 Ivorian presidential election by the country's Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), the President of the Constitutional Council – an ally of Gbagbo – declared the results to be invalid and that Gbagbo was the winner. Both Gbagbo and Ouattara claimed victory and took the presidential oath of office.
 The international community, including the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union, the United States, and former colonial power France have affirmed their support for Ouattara, who is "almost universally acknowledged to have defeated [Gbagbo] at the ballot box," and called for Gbagbo to step down. On 18 December, Gbagbo ordered all UN peacekeepers to leave the country. The UN refused and the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN Mission in Côte d'Ivoire until 30 June 2011. However, negotiations to resolve the dispute failed to achieve any satisfactory outcome. Hundreds of people were killed in escalating violence between pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara partisans and at least a million people have fled, mostly from Abidjan.
Second Ivorian civil war

Date: 28 November 2010-11 April 2011

Location: Ivory Coast

Commanders and leaders
1.Laurent Gbagbo 2.Gilbert Ake 3.Michel Amani	1.Alassane Ouattara(IC) 2.Guillaume Soro(IC) 3.Choi Young-jin(UN) 4.Nicolas Sarkozy(France)

Result:

1. Gbagbo captured;

2. Ouattara/UN/French victory