UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – Elements loyal to former Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo are no longer a threat to peace and order in the West African nation, the UN mission chief said on Monday.
"By and large, the ex pro-Gbagbo elements and their supporters are not likely to mount substantial challenges to law and order -- a painful chapter of history in Cote d'Ivoire has been closed," said Choi Young-Jin, who heads the UN mission known as UNOCI.
Choi told the Security Council that the meltdown of Gbagbo supporters "augurs well for the achievement of reconciliation in the country."
The diplomat said that despite the fading of Gbagbo forces, there remains "a need for a rapid restoration of law and order" as a precondition of reconciliation and economic recovery.
He added that in the western part "we see a certain deficit of security" but that "most experts are of the view that there is a positive (economic) recovery in the country."
Choi said the United Nations would work with Ivory Coast on organizing legislative elections set for later this year.
Separately, the Ivory Coast ambassador to the UN, Youssoufou Bamba, indicated that the country "is progressively returning to normal."
Of the estimated 200,000 people displaced by the conflict before the installation of elected President Alassane Ouattara, 60,000 have returned home, while 140,000 are still refugees, many in camps along the Liberian border, according to Bamba.
An estimated 3,000 people died during the standoff after Gbagbo refused to cede power after elections in November won by Ouattara, who was finally inaugurated May 21.
Gbagbo was captured in an underground bunker in Abidjan on April 11 by forces loyal to Ouattara, backed by France and the UN.
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