Clashes over Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara’s re-election killed at least six people yesterday as the country’s top court validated his contested third-term victory.
Ouattara, aged 78, won more than 94 per cent of the vote, but Ivory Coast is caught in a standoff after opposition leaders boycotted the ballot and vowed to set up a rival government in protest over a mandate they see as illegal.
Around 50 people have been killed in violence since August and two opposition chiefs have been arrested, fuelling fears that Ivory Coast could slide into the kind of widespread unrest it suffered after a disputed 2010 vote.
Local residents said three more people were killed in central Elibou during clashes between security forces and protesters blocking a highway.
