Israeli envoy returns from Ivory Coast

Diplomats land in Israel two days after being rescued from Abidjan by UN forces. 'There's a bloody war there, real hell,' says Ambassador Daniel Saada

Ronen Medzini |Published: 04.11.11 , 00:29

Israeli diplomats returned from Ivory Coast on Sunday, two days after being rescued from the fighting in the western African country by UN forces.

"I'm always happy to land in Israel, but today I am particularly happy," admitted Ambassador Daniel Saada, who was injured during the evacuation. "We went through difficult days, real hell. A war inside a city is a war which is unfamiliar with the limitations we're familiar with here."

Saada is the Israeli ambassador to several African countries, including Congo and Madagascar, where Israel does not have permanent representation. About three weeks ago, he was sent to replace the ambassador in Ivory Coast, who returned home for a short while, but found himself stranded in the country following local riots.

The four members of the diplomatic staff in Abidjan barricaded themselves in the ambassador's residence in the past few days, in light of the fighting between supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo, who lost the elections but refuses to step down, and followers of his rival Alassane Ouattara, who won the elections.

'I fell off an APC'

On Friday they were evacuated in a helicopter to the capital of neighboring Ghana, after the embassy building was fired on several times.

"It's a bloody war, a very difficult one," Saada recounted. "We found ourselves trapped for several days under heavy fire. When the UN forces finally reached our street to try to rescue us, they were suddenly fired on. As a result, there was a lot of panic and I fell off an APC and was lightly hurt."

Elad Ratzon, the Israeli consul in Ivory Coast, said the rescue force was comprised of six armored personnel carriers," each speaking a different language. The moment I saw Jordanians leading the force, I spoke to them in Arabic and used a few words and Middle Eastern gestures to get them to understand that we needed help, and they rushed Daniel to the hospital."

Ambassador Saada clarified that all the Israeli who asked to be evacuated from Ivory Coast were indeed evacuated. According to recent reports, four Israeli nationals living in Abidjan moved to areas for foreigners guarded by the French army, while the rest likely chose to remain in their homes.

"We are returning to a sort of routine," Saada concluded. "We're glad to be here, thanks to an extraordinary Foreign Ministry diplomatic operation, with the help of many external elements who lent a hand to the State of Israel to get us out of there."