Ivory Coast

Muslim women pray as they face off soldiers in an unauthorized protest calling for President Laurent Gbagbo to step down, in the Treichville neighborhood of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Monday, Feb. 28, 2011. Within minutes of the end of prayers, soldiers began firing to disperse the protestors. In a dramatic escalation of the nation’s conflict, Belarus has violated an international arms embargo by sending three attack helicopters to military forces supporting Ivory Coast’s longtime ruler who refuses to cede power, alleged a Sunday statement issued by the office of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)