News Release

April 4, 2011

The World Evangelical Alliance is deeply concerned about the growing violence, loss of life and humanitarian crisis in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast).

A civil war between the forces of international recognized president Alassane Ouattara and the forces of incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo has escalated in the last few days, with hundreds killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.

In response to the current situation, the WEA calls for the following actions:

- The cessation of all the current hostilities.

- The protection of all civilians caught in this conflict.

- The orderly transition of political power that represents the will of the people expressed in the recent elections and is supported by the international community.

- The perpetrators of the atrocities since the election are to be held accountable and brought to justice.

The WEA calls upon its global family to pray peace for the people of Côte d'Ivoire at this extremely difficult time. The WEA also urges Christians to support its member agencies who are providing humanitarian assistance and care for the hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, Chief Executive Officer/Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance, said: “For the sake of entire generation of children at risk in Côte d'Ivoire, I urge immediate action in response to this tragic situation.”

The World Evangelical Alliance is made up of 128 national evangelical alliances located in 7 regions and 104 associate member organizations and global networks. The WEA is the world's largest association of evangelical Christians serving a constituency of 600 million people. The WEA is a voice to governments, media, and other faith communities and holds consultative status at the United Nations.

Source: http://www.worldevangelicals.org/news/article.htm?id=3466&cat=press

Reprinted with permission from the World Evangelical Alliance