Evacuations signal deepening Ivory Coast crisis

IVORY COAST — The evacuation of foreign missionaries from Ivory Coast (CÔte d’ Ivoire) has drawn attention to the crisis unfolding in the West African nation.

Rebel soldiers launched a military uprising in three major cities across the country aimed at overthrowing President Laurent Gbagbo. With battle lines drawn roughly between a predominantly Muslim population in the north and Christians and animists in the south, the fighting has claimed hundreds of lives and driven 200,000 refugees from Bouake, the country’s second largest city located in the heart of the country.

Larry Sellers, a missionary from Yamoussoukro who evacuated Oct. 24, said long-standing tensions between the country’s diverse ethnic groups, aggravated by religious differences, are elements that could fuel violence. If the rebel forces should gain control of the government, then it s likely that Islam could become more favored and Christianity open to greater opposition.