Ivorian forces kill seven, post-election toll hits 365

Ivorian security forces shot dead seven women protestors on Thursday and the United Nations said at least 365 people had died in violence since disputed elections that have taken the country to the brink of civil war. Many others were wounded in the attack on the all-women demonstration against incumbent Laurent Gbagbo in the northern Abidjan suburb of Abobo, two witnesses and a security source said.
The UN said some 200,000 people had fled their homes in Abobo, leaving it almost completely deserted after heavy fighting last week. The power struggle between presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara and Gbagbo, who has rejected widespread calls to stand down after a November 28 election, could push the top cocoa grower back into civil war.