[xtypo_dropcap]A[/xtypo_dropcap]s the political crisis in Ivory Coast continues to deepen, forces loyal to outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo started to attack United Nations peacekeepers on Jan. 13.
In the country’s commercial capital, Abidjan, U.N. military vehicles were damaged and burned in six separate incidents.
The U.N. has a total of 9,000 workers in the West African country. The international organization has received fierce criticism from Gbagbo, who has ordered the U.N. to leave the country.
Gbagbo lost recent presidential elections but has refused to step down, pushing the Ivory Coast to the brink of a civil war. Over 200 people have been killed in violence resulting from the political standoff so far. At least 23,000 Ivorians have fled to neighboring countries over the past weeks, according to the U.N.
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