Protesters Clash With Riot Police in Ivory Coast

Riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets Wednesday to disperse thousands of anti-government protesters, who responded by throwing stones and destroying vehicles. At least two people were injured and several opposition leaders arrested.

The clashes in the traditionally stable West African nation were the latest twist in a political crisis over whether or not former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara, a former International Monetary Fund deputy managing director, is eligible to run in next year’s presidential election.

Ouattara’s Rally of the Republicans, or RDR, had planned a sit-in outside the state television station, which it accuses of smear tactics.

After police dispersed the marchers, smaller throngs of youths regrouped and counterattacked with stones and bottles.

At least two people were injured by rubber bullets, officials said. The RDR, one of Ivory Coast’s largest opposition parties, said more than 20 people were hospitalized.

Several abandoned buses and cars with shattered windows littered a major highway near the city center. In the early afternoon, about 20 RDR officials and activists, including party Secretary-General Henriette Diabate, were put into several armored police vehicles and whisked away.

Several foreign journalists were accosted by police, who seized film from still and video photographers.

Ouattara’s supporters accuse President Henri Konan Bedie’s government of harassing their leader because of the increasing threat he poses in next year’s voting.

Bedie claims Ouattara is ineligible to stand in the October election because his father is from neighboring Burkina Faso.

Ouattara insists that both his parents were born in Ivory Coast and that he has the documents to prove it. A judge has launched an investigation into the authenticity of Ouattara’s identity papers.