The Church's statement was released as the UN moved yesterday to impose sanctions on the Ivory Coast’s incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo.

Gbagbo refuses to relinquish power to the winner of last November’s presidential election, Alassane Ouattara, recognised by the international community as the president of the Ivory Coast.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the ensuing civil war as clashes continue between fighters loyal to Gbagbo and Ouattara’s Republican Forces.

The Provincial Synod of the Church of the Province of West Africa said it was “pained” by the “numerous and seemingly incessant hardships and misfortunes made manifest in political instability, wanton destruction of human life and property, [and] displaced and in-between peoples”.

“We are struck by the irony that the region so well endured [sic] by God has become almost synonymous with disease, especially HIV/AIDS and other preventable diseases and poverty, a code for exclusion and marginalisation of people from the bounty of God,” the Church said in a statement.

The International Organisation for Migration [IOM] warned that a major military offensive launched by Ouattara’s forces in western Ivory Coast this week had “effectively sealed off” tens of thousands of people, preventing them from receiving adequate humanitarian assistance and protection.

The organisation estimates that around 20,000 Ivoirians and West African migrants have been displaced by the unrest.

Many of them have sought refuge in a Catholic mission in the town of Duekoue, around 400km north-west of Abidjan.

According to the IOM, the refugees have little or no access to shelter, food, water and health facilities.

“Conditions at the Catholic mission are fast becoming unbearable,” said Jacques Seurt, IOM Emergency Coordinator in the Ivory Coast.

“Terrified displaced persons have been streaming in, some with gunshot wounds as they cannot receive emergency treatment from the local hospital.

“All are seeking protection from the fighting. We call upon belligerents to ensure the mission remains a safe haven for the displaced.”