UN report indicts both sides of Ivorian conflict for crime

UN report indicts both sides of Ivorian conflict for crime

A report by UN human rights body says both sides in the Ivorian conflict committed serious human rights violations, some of which may be considered crimes against humanity and war crimes.

A UN Human Rights Council investigative team was in Ivory Coast from May 4 to May 28 and visited some of the areas worse hit by the fighting, including towns in the west such as Duekoue where there were reports of mass graves.

The report said: "The Commission concluded that during the period (of the conflict) several serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law were committed by the different actors."

"Some may constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes."

The report said some of the violations, which included rape and indiscriminate killings, were committed by the pro-Gbagbo Ivorian army with the backing of militias and mercenaries.

"In their counter-offensive and since the country fell under the control of the FRCI (pro-Ouattara forces, now the new Ivorian army), several victims in the west, southwest and Abidjan are paying a heavy price," the report said.

Tussle for presidency

The country plunged into a four-month conflict after a disputed presidential election which UN-certified results showed former president Laurent Gbagbo lost to Alassane Ouattara, but Gbagbo refused to step-down.

The ensuing conflict, which killed about 3,000 and displaced over a million, ended in April after troops loyal to Ouattara swept through the country and ousted Gbagbo with the help of UN and French forces under a UN Security Council mandate.

Call for investigation

The report, to be debated by the UN's human rights council which ordered the inquiry, urged the new Ivorian government to carry out an impartial investigation and ensure perpetrators were brought to justice.

The UN's findings follow that of rights group Amnesty International, which in May said both sides of the Ivorian conflict committed war crimes.

Ouattara has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the allegations of serious crimes committed during the conflict and has created a truth and reconciliation commission to help the nation heal.  

REUTERS/Williams