May 26, 2011: Six weeks after the brief civil war ended, much of the country is still a mess. There are still a million internal refugees. Apparently over 3,000 died in the fighting and civil disorder. The final battles were fought mainly in the south, particularly Abidjan (the largest city in the country and home of a third of the 15 million population). The city is also largely pro-Gbagbo (who did receive 46 percent of the vote in last year's election). There was not a lot of fighting, but there was an enormous amount of looting and destruction. Thus a lot of people are out of work, as well as out of a home. Most of the victims of this economic destruction were Gbagbo supporters.

There is still fighting in the south, as many Gbagbo supporters still have their weapons, and their dislike for the northerners. Gbagbo's party, the FPI is still around, and planning to run lots of candidates in the legislative elections later this year. FPI is demanding the release of their long-time leader, Laurent Gbagbo, along with many senior FPI officials.  The country remains divided by tribal and religious differences. President Ouattara has to satisfy demands for justice from his supporters and opponents. How well this is handled will determine whether the civil war will eventually resume. Since Gbagbo was arrested in early April, media that supported him have been closed and many of his senior supporters arrested or chased into exile.

May 21, 2011: Alassane Ouattara was finally sworn in as president, after winning an election last November, and a civil war.

France announced that it will continue to station 1,100 troops in Ivory Coast. At present, these soldiers are being used as peacekeepers.