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U.N: Ivory Coast machete attacks kill 41

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, June 1 (UPI) -- The United Nations says machete-wielding attackers have killed at least 41 people and injured 61 others in a western Ivory Coast village.

The U.N. Operation in Ivory Coast, known as UNOCI, said the unknown assailants staged the attack on Guetrozon village between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, forcing "many people" to flee in fear of reprisals to the nearby town of Duekoue, about 300 miles west of the West Africa nation's commercial capital, Abidjan.

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UNOCI said it has reinforced its troops in the area to help the Ivorian Security and Defense Forces to stabilize the situation. The world's leading cocoa-growing nation has been split between the rebel-held north and army-controlled south since an attempted coup in 2002 with stability further eroded by irregular ethnic clashes.

The U.N. mission strongly condemned the attacks, "which constitute a setback for reconciliation efforts that have been under way for one month in the Duekoue area and run counter to the current dynamics of the peace process."

It called for all parties "to avoid taking any initiatives that could increase tension."

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