Ivory Coast newspapers resume publication

Ivory Coast newspapers resume publication

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Newspapers allied with Ivory Coast’s former ruler resumed publication this week, after observing a three-day moratorium to protest what editors and press freedom groups describe as a climate of intimidation.

The move comes after men brandishing crow bars attacked the headquarters of a media house in Abidjan allied with ex-leader Laurent Gbagbo, who is now at the International Criminal Court awaiting trial following last year’s near-civil war.

On Aug. 18, the attackers assaulted the security guard, ransacked office furniture and set on fire the first floor of the Cyclone Group, according to a statement by the country’s pro-Gbagbo newspapers.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on President Alassane Ouattara’s administration to halt the censorship of critical publications and to investigate the Cyclone attack.

Pro-Gbagbo newspapers resumed publication on Monday.