At the time, international organizations reported numerous human rights violations, and the UN undertook its own military action with the stated objective to protect itself and civilians.

Results had been expected and then postponed for days, beyond the deadline, and Bakayoko's appearance to announce the results—at an Abidjan hotel heavily guarded by the UN—took the press by surprise.

[28] N'Dre announced that the results in seven northern regions were cancelled, and on that basis declaring the outcome narrowly in favor of Gbagbo, who was credited with 51.45% of the vote while Ouattara had 48.55%.

[29] On the basis of the CEI's results, Ouattara maintained that he was "the elected President" and said that the Constitutional Council had "abused its authority, the whole world knows it, and I am sorry for my country's image".

[30] He had the clear backing of the international and regional community for his claim to victory, but top officers in the military appeared to stand firmly behind Gbagbo.

[33] Gbagbo was sworn in for another five-year term on 4 December, defiantly declaring: "I will continue to work with all the countries of the world, but I will never give up our sovereignty."

[35] The US, UN, EU, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and former colonial power France affirmed their support to Ouattara.

[47] On 5 December, former South African President Thabo Mbeki held separate talks with Gbagbo and Ouattara, acting as a mediator.

The African Union had appointed Mbeki to lead an emergency mission to Côte d'Ivoire "to facilitate the rapid and peaceful conclusion of the electoral process and the efforts to find a way out of the crisis.

On 22 December, State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said that Ouattara's victory was irrefutable and reiterated U.S. demands that Gbagbo step down.

[58] Clashes between rival ethnic groups seen as being pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara killed 33 people in the central Ivorian city of Duékoué between 3 and 6 January 2011.

[65] Abobo came under heavy attack on 17 March, killing 30 people, when shells were fired into a crowded market from a nearby military barracks.

[72] Approximately 1,800 people, including children and civil servants, had taken refuge in Abidjan's Saint Paul's Cathedral since the beginning of the crisis.

A series of western towns fell to the RFCI between 25 February and 21 March as it advanced beyond the ceasefire line from the previous civil war.

[85] By 31 March the RFCI had reached Abidjan as fighting broke out in the city, with Gbagbo loyalists falling back to the area around the presidential palace.

[93] According to local UN mission chief Choi Young-jin, troops loyal to Gbagbo (about 3,000 militiamen according to an Ouattara spokesman[94]) occupied the neighborhood surrounding the Golf Hotel and set up a blockade that prevented UN trucks from bringing food, water and medicine to the hotel; UN trucks were sent each day but had been turned back every time.

[93][95] During early March 2011, Ouattara traveled to Ethiopia to meet with an African Union (AU) council tasked with finding a solution to the conflict.

[101] As a declining economy threatens the status of Côte d'Ivoire, as the largest producer of cocoa in the world, a revival hinged on the outcome of the election.

[107] The regional stock exchange Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres moved "temporarily" to Bamako, Mali after Gbagbo's troops attacked its office in Abidjan.

[111][112] Reports suggested a cash crisis in the country due to a lack of capital inflows and runs on banks forcing national financial institutions to also deplete their reserves.

They wore white T-shirts[114] and represented countries across West Africa including Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo.

[115] On 6 April, in Canada outside the French consulate in Montreal, demonstrators protested against France's military intervention in Ivory Coast and asked for humanitarian corridors to be opened in Abidjan.

[116] On 8 April, in Ireland outside the French embassy in Dublin, demonstrators protested against the international community's "military invasion" of Ivory Coast.

The government, citing its incompetence, has requested the involvement of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the investigation of violence related crimes.

[126] The personnel director of the company that published Le Temps, a newspaper close to FPI, was briefly arrested on 24 May 2011 and then released in the same day.

[127] The Republican Forces of Côte d'Ivoire occupied the seat of Notre Voie, a newspaper close to FPI, from April to the beginning of September.

[125] A summary of a press conference by UNOCI in August reported several confrontations between FRCI and youths in Ores-Krobou, Abadjin-Kouté, Abadjin-Doumé, Akoupé-Zeudji, and Biéby.

[129] On the night of 24–25 April 2012, the village of Sakré, in the Southwest near Liberia, was attacked by an armed group equipped with heavy weapons including rockets, leaving 8 dead.

[125] The mandate of Choi Young-ji ended on 31 August, and Albert Gerard Koenders became the new UN Special Representative for Côte d'Ivoire on 1 September.

The commission includes religious leaders, regional representatives, and Chelsea footballer Didier Drogba to speak for Ivorians living abroad.