COTE D'IVOIRE: UN Reports Rights Crimes on Both Sides of Conflict
Both sides in the Ivorian conflict committed serious human rights violations, some of which may be considered crimes against humanity and war crimes, a report by a UN human rights body said on Friday.
The West African nation 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.
A United Nations Human Rights Council investigative team was in Ivory Coast from May 4-28 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. Reuters Africa (10 June 2011)