Civil strife plagues Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Several hundred Malians and Burkinabe have fled their homes in Ivory Coast's cocoa-growing region after arson attacks and looting.

The U.N.'s Integrated Regional Information Network reports groups of young men have been attacking villagers in Gagnoa, west of Abidjan, during the past month.

The Ivorian daily newspaper, "24 HEURES" reported Tuesday new measures "of forced expropriation" were being directed at Burkinabe, Malians and Ivorians from the north, notably Dioulas, Sénoufos and Tagbanas.

Cocoa planters from the Baoulé ethnic group, originally from the center of Ivory Coast, have also had long-standing differences with the Bété population of the west.