New York, United States - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Tuesday said thousands of residents of Cote d’Ivoire’s commercial capital, Abidjan, have been flocking to bus stations seeking transport out of the city, following the escalation of violence in the city. A statement, made available to PANA in New York, said: 'During the weekend and on Monday, monitors with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees saw thousands of people trying to leave from Adjame and Yopougon bus terminals in Abidjan. 'Many families slept there in a desperate bid to secure seats in departing vehicles,' it stated.

It also said that, 'some of those fleeing said they had decided to leave following an appeal on Saturday by the pro-Gbagbo youth leader, Charles Ble Goude, who urged civilians to join the ranks of the armed forces.'

The statement also noted that, 'thousands of youths have reportedly responded to the appeal, which those departing Abidjan have interpreted as a declaration of war'.

'The bus stations were already crowded with families seeking to leave Abidjan amid the intensifying violence and the cost of transportation has risen sharply,'  the agency said.

It further disclosed that, 'an estimated 300,000 people in Abidjan are displaced, with many of them former residents of Abobo.'

Meanwhile, UNHCR and its partners said they have set up the first Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) site in the western town of Danane.

'Over the weekend, 778 displaced people were relocated to the site from a nearby primary school. Two other IDP sites are being rehabilitated in Danane, where an estimated 5,000 people were displaced by violence earlier this year,' it said.

It said the Ivorian crisis had also affected some 24,000 Liberian refugees who have been living in Abidjan for nearly two decades.

'Some of them have signed up for repatriation to Liberia and the first UNHCR-organized airlift of 171 returnees took place on Saturday,' the agency said.

The UN mission in Cote d'Ivoire had said that, :as many as 30 unarmed civilians were killed and 60 others were wounded when the market in Abidjan’s northern suburb of Abobo was attacked with mortar shells on Thursday.

It said the shelling was carried out by members of the Ivorian Defence and Security Forces (FDSCI), who are loyal to former president Laurent Gbagbo.

PANA learnt that Abobo is considered as a stronghold of supporters of Alassane Ouattara.

Pana 23/03/2011