Three days of protests by students in Ivory Coast's fractious political atmosphere have disrupted administrative and ministry activities of the Seventh-day Adventist Church there, including the West-Central Africa regional headquarters, according to Adventist Church Communication Director Jean Emmanuel Nlo Nlo.

Right now, he said, all Adventist workers in the country are believed to be safe. The Ivory Coast, known as Cote d'Ivoire in French, is located in Western Africa, between Ghana and Liberia, and borders the North Atlantic Ocean on its southern coast. Abidjan, where the Adventist church regional office is located, is the commercial center of the country where many foreign embassies are also located.

"For three days, we have been unable to reach the office," Nlo Nlo said in a telephone interview from Abidjan. The headquarters is located between the residences of Ivorian state president Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Konan Banny, who had been appointed to his position last month.

"The city is like a ghost town in many places. People are purchasing things and storing them at home. We don't know what we will do," Nlo Nlo said.

He added, "We anticipate no [Sabbath] services this weekend, unless the situation changes. Our embassies have advised us to be in our homes."

The latest round of protests broke out, according to media reports, when United Nations peacekeepers issued a recommendation that the current parliament's mandate be allowed to expire, as part of the run-up to national elections this autumn. The parliament is dominated by supporters of President Gbagbo, reports indicate.

That did not please Gbagbo's supporters, including students and other youths who seized control of the streets of Abidjan. According to Nlo Nlo, the situation in the city is "very, very tense."

Nlo Nlo said Pastor Luka T. Daniel, West-Central African Adventist Church president, is expected back in Abidjan on January 19 (Thursday). Also due to arrive Thursday, according to wire reports, is Nigerian president and African Union chairman Olusegun Obasanjo, who has helped mediate Ivory Coast's peace process following the 2002 civil war.

"Please pray for us. Pray for the situation here," Nlo Nlo requested. [Editor: Mark A. Kellner for ANN/APD]