Cote d'Ivoire's government resigned on Wednesday in a symbolic
gesture of its responsibility for the poisoning incident in
Abidjan, which has killed at least three people, made more than
1,500 others ill and triggered protests, according to state
television.
An emergency meeting was held in the political capital
Yamoussoukro, where interim Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny
tendered his resignation on behalf of the government to President
Laurent Gbagbo, a broadcast said.
Gbagbo, who has accepted the resignation, said he would meet
Banny on Thursday to discuss the formation of a new government.
The president also made it clear that "those who are responsible
must be hunted down and sanctioned."
The poisoning was attributed to a Panamanian-registered ship,
which unloaded hundreds of tons of waste containing hydrogen
sulphide in densely populated areas last month.
Banny described the situation as "very serious" after local
medics reported that hundreds of residents had developed symptoms
of nausea, sore chests, vomiting and diarrhoea. The government also
appealed for international help.
Following the incident, residents took to the streets in Abidjan
in protest. Some roads were blocked by branches and boulders during
the anti-pollution demonstration.
Police were reported to have been in confrontation with angry
protesters, and fired tear gas to disperse them.
The government on television appealed for calm to allow medics
to reach hospital to treatment the sick.
(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2006)
