President Ellen Johnson has sent  two separate  messages  of condolences to the Governments and Peoples  of Côté d’ Ivoire and Angola following the tragic death  of sixty (  60) persons and  the wounding   of forty- nine (49) others, in Abidjan ,as well as  the news of the death of 10 persons in Angola, which occurred at   two separate stampedes in the two countries respectively.

In the message to Ivoirian President H.E Dr. Alassane Ouattara, President Johnson Sirleaf extended heartfelt condolences on behalf of Liberia to the Government and People of Ivory Coast, especially the bereaved families for what she described as a colossal national tragedy.

President Sirleaf hoped and prayed that as the people of Liberia join their Ivoirian counterparts in mourning this national loss, the Almighty God will grant President Ouattara and his compatriots courage and fortitude during the period of their national grief and hoped the souls of the faithful departed would rest in peace.

And to the government and people of Angola, President Sirleaf extended her deepest condolences on behalf of Liberia to the People of Angola particularly the bereaved families for the irreparable loss sustained during the festive season as a result of the stampede.

The Liberian leader also prayed that the Government and People of Angola, especially the bereaved families, will overcome this tragedy as they undergo the period of national mourning.
It can be recalled that the stampede in Côté d’Ivoire occurred on Tuesday, January 1, 2013 after leaving a New Year Fireworks Show at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan’s Plateau District, while the incident in Angola took place at a local Sports Stadium where the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God was to host a New Year Eve Vigil in Angola.