The military coup in the Ivory Coast "has made for an extraordinary few days over the Christmas period", according to two Irish Methodist missionaries in the West African republic.
"The dozen or so Irish citizens and some 200 British citizens who have registered in the Ivory Coast are known to be safe and accounted for," according to Mr Simon Griffin, who is in Abidjan, visiting his parents, the Rev Brian Griffin and Mrs Eirene Griffin. One Irish person was on board a British Airways flight from London that landed 30 minutes before military personnel seized the international airport in Abidjan on Christmas Eve.
The Rev Brian Griffin is a minister in the Irish Methodist Church and is currently serving as a mission partner with the Methodist Church in the Ivory Coast, which is the world's leading cocoa producer.
Abidjan, a port city of three million people, returned to normal on Monday. According to Mrs Griffin, the bloodless coup is popular and, although there has been some looting, normal life has continued.
The behaviour of soldiers supporting the coup "is both popular with the masses and fairly well controlled," according to Mr Simon Griffin. "However, this could easily change and the situation may deteriorate if foreign countries attempt to intervene in the situation."
Alan Raybould reports from Abidjan:
The new military rulers in the Ivory Coast went on the diplomatic offensive yesterday, explaining the reasons for their Christmas Eve coup in an effort to persuade a sceptical outside world to do business with them.
The talks coincided with efforts by the deposed President, Mr Henri Konan Bedie, who held talks with President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria on Monday, to rally regional support. Mr Bedie said he planned to return to the Ivory Coast soon - that he was the elected president.
"We are going to seek your help to put in place democratic rules so that the political battle, the political fight is conducted by everyone in a healthy and transparent atmosphere," Gen. Robert Guei told ambassadors in Abidjan.
Gen. Guei, head of the National Public Salvation Committee set up by soldiers who toppled President Bedie, said the Ivory Coast would keep on paying its foreign debt but gave no timetable for a return to civilian rule.
The US announced yesterday that it was suspending all bilateral aid and arms transfers to the Ivory Coast. following a coup in the West African country last week.
--(Reuters)