Daloa

Daloa
city
Daloa

Location in Côte d'Ivoire

Coordinates: 6°53′N 6°27′W / 6.883°N 6.450°WCoordinates: 6°53′N 6°27′W / 6.883°N 6.450°W[1]
Country Côte d'Ivoire
Region Haut-Sassandra Region
Department Daloa
Area
 • Metro 5,305 km2 (2,048 sq mi)
Elevation 299 m (981 ft)
Population (2014 census)
 • city 319,427
 • Metro 591,633
 • Metro density 110/km2 (290/sq mi)
Time zone GMT (UTC+0)

Daloa is a town and the capital of the Haut-Sassandra Region in western Côte d'Ivoire. It has a population of 319,427 according to the 2014 census.[2] It lies to the west of Yamoussoukro. The town is an important trading centre, particularly for cocoa. The town is served by Daloa Airport and is home to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Daloa, with its cathedral at Cathédrale du Christ-Roi. People from Daloa include the musician Ernesto Djédjé.

Civil War

Division of territory following the First Ivorian Civil War

The town was repeatedly contested during the First Ivorian Civil War, which lasted from 2002 to 2004. Following the takeover of the town by the government on 16 October 2002, fifty civilians from the north were allegedly killed by government troops. Amnesty International described the killings as a "massacre", saying people in military uniform had killed people suspected of supporting the rebel Patriotic Movement of Côte d'Ivoire. The killings were allegedly based on their Muslim names or that the victims were nationals of Mali, Burkino Faso or Guinea. Côte d'Ivoire authorities ordered an inquiry but stated government forces had not been responsible.[3] However, no charges were brought and the Ougadougou Peace Agreement in March 2007 between President Laurent Gbagbo and rebel leader Guillaume Soro incorporated a general amnesty for crimes committed in this time, except for crimes against humanity, war crimes and economic crimes.[4]

In February 2012, the International Criminal Court decided to investigate this incident.[5]

Twin towns

Daloa is twinned with:

References

  1. ↑ "Ivory Coast Cities Longitude & Latitude". sphereinfo.com. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  2. ↑ Ivory Coast at GeoHive
  3. ↑ Daloa massacres recall the spectre of Youpougon, Amnesty International, 28 October 2002, accessed 24 February 2012
  4. ↑ Ouagadougou Political Agreement, United Nations, 13 March 2007, accessed 24 February 2012
  5. ↑ Ivory Coast rivals Soro and Gbagbo welcome ICC move, BBC, 24 February 2012