Ivorian paper vendors 'attacked'

Ivory Coast's newspapers are deeply divided

The Paris-based pressure group, Reporters Without Borders, has condemned the intimidation of newspaper vendors in Ivory Coast.

The organisation says youths in Abidjan and towns in the south have threatened and attacked street vendors selling newspapers supporting the opposition.

The pro-president National Federation of Ivory Coast Forums and Parliaments, group has been blamed for the action.

Reporters Without Borders is urging the authorities to punish the youths.

Copies ripped up

The BBC's James Copnall in Abidjan says Ivory Coast's numerous newspapers are often accused of being partisan, thus helping to fuel the two-year-old crisis in the country.

Since Monday morning pro-government militants have been ripping up copies of nine newspapers accused of supporting the opposition in the southern towns of Gagboa, Soubre and Agboville, as well as in the economic capital Abidjan.

Distribution firm Edipresse has stopped sending copies of the nine papers to the three towns.

In Abidjan, sales of the so-called opposition newspapers are down.

Rebel sympathies

Reporters Without Borders said that this kind of violent political censorship encourages arbitrary power.

Toure Moussa, senior representative of Le Patriote newspaper said his paper had been forced to reduce its daily circulation from 18,000 to 15,000.

He said many people were now scared to sell his newspaper.

Ablaye Sanghare of 24 Heures said his paper and the others concerned will band together.

They will meet with several press regulatory bodies on Friday.

Both newspapers also said they intended to take the militants, including their leader Idriss Ouattara, to court.

Mr Ouattara told the BBC he had ordered his militants to destroy the papers because in a time of war the press should rally to the government's cause.

He said it was outrageous that newspapers expressed sympathy or common opinions with the rebels who seized the north of the country two years ago.

The time for press freedom would come after the end of the crisis, he added.

He explained that he and his men would continue to destroy opposition newspapers until the rebels started to disarm.