The need for justice for post-electoral crimes in Côte d'Ivoire |HRW Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch

On November 28, 2010, the Ivorian people went to the polls to elect a President in the hope of ending ten years of crisis marked by the military and political division of the country between North and South. In the week following the second round of this election, and despite a broad international consensus on the victory of Alassane Ouattara, outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo refuses to leave power. The post-election crisis, initially taking the form of a campaign of targeted violence led by the forces of Laurent Gbagbo, turns into an armed conflict in which the armed forces of both sides are guilty of serious crimes. In the space of six months, at least 3,000 people have been killed and more than 150 women raped, in the context of this conflict which unfolds largely according to political, ethnic and religious criteria.

Elite security forces closely linked to Laurent Gbagbo abduct members of Alassane Ouattara's coalition from restaurants or homes and force them into vehicles. Their loved ones will later find their bodies riddled with bullets in the morgue. Women trying to mobilize voters or simply wearing pro-Ouattara T-shirts are hunted down and, often, victims of gang rapes committed by members of the armed forces and militias under the control of Laurent Gbagbo, who tell their victims of “go tell Alassane” about their problems. Pro-Gbagbo militiamen erect checkpoints and arrest hundreds of real or suspected supporters of Alassane Ouattara or attack them in their own neighborhood, beating them to death with bricks, executing them at point-blank range, or burning them to death.

The abuses of the pro-Ouattara forces, baptized Republican Forces by decree of March 17, did not reach a comparable intensity until the beginning of March, following the offensive launched to take the country. In Duékoué, Republican Forces and pro-Ouattara militias massacre hundreds of people, extracting alleged pro-Gbagbo militia members from their homes, then executing them while they are defenseless. During the military offensive aimed at taking control of Abidjan and consolidating the city, the Republican Forces executed a large number of people from ethnic groups linked to Laurent Gbagbo, sometimes on the very places of their detention, and tortured many of them. others.

During six missions to Côte d'Ivoire, including four in Abidjan and two along the Ivorian-Liberian border, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 500 victims or witnesses of the violence, as well as members of the armed forces of the two camps, Ouattara government officials, journalists, health personnel, representatives of humanitarian and human rights organizations, members of the United Nations and diplomats in Abidjan, New York, Washington and Paris. Human Rights Watch thus found that both sides had committed war crimes and, probably, crimes against humanity, a conclusion shared by the international commission of inquiry in its report submitted to the Human Rights Council on June 15.

Post-election violence is the culmination of a decade of impunity. on the violence perpetrated. Those who bore arms and those who were members of the security forces who committed serious crimes remain immune from prosecution. It is to this impunity that we owe the formation of vigilante groups throughout the country and, in particular, in its extremely unstable western part, where vigilantism replaces legality.

The presidency of Laurent Gbagbo is also characterized by the confiscation of power for the benefit of ethnic groups loyal to him, as well as by the increasingly flagrant manipulation of the concepts of ethnicity and citizenship in order to stigmatize Ivorians from the North or immigrants from West Africa, considered as dangerous "foreigners", even though these people have spent their whole lives in Côte d'Ivoire, often in southern cities such as Abidjan, very far from their ethnic region of origin. After the In the second round of elections, the Gbagbo government-controlled television channel, Radio Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI), incites violence against these groups, systematically labeling them as "rebels" or undesirables threatening the nation. With the rise in post-election tensions, Laurent Gbagbo's invectives redoubled, comparing Alassane Ouattara's supporters to "sewer rats" or "slaughtered birds", and urging his supporters to erect roadblocks and "denounce any foreigner », a call immediately followed by targeted attacks of appalling violence.

The abuses committed against alleged supporters of Alassane Ouattara are appalling. Between December 2010 and April 2011, pro-Gbagbo militiamen erected roadblocks and arrested hundreds of people based on their dress or their name on an identity card. then doused with gasoline, before being burned alive on a pile of tires and wood. The practice is known as “article 125”: petrol, 100 CFA francs (€0.15), box of matches, 25 CFA francs (€0.04). Others were executed at close range, as evidenced by a 40-year-old Burkinabé detained at a checkpoint in Abidjan on March 29 along with eight other immigrants from West Africa. The police ordered this group of people to move away in a certain direction, before opening fire on them. Hit by two bullets, the witness survived, which was not the case for six other people killed alongside him.

In the far west of the country, the militiamen of Laurent Gbagbo and Liberian mercenaries kill hundreds of people, mainly on the basis of their ethnicity. A particularly atrocious event took place on March 25 in Bloléquin, where people took refuge in the prefecture building located in an area later taken over by Laurent Gbagbo's forces from the Republican Forces. When they entered the prefecture, Gbagbo's supporters asked them to speak Guéré, the language of an ethnic group from the far west largely favored by Laurent Gbagbo. Those who did not speak it perfectly were shot. Three days later, the same mercenaries and militiamen killed at least 37 people, mostly West African immigrants, in Bédi-Goazon, a village near Bloléquin.

During their offensive in early March, the Republican Forces also took part in punitive operations against real or presumed supporters of Laurent Gbagbo. In the far west of the country, the Republican Forces executed at point-blank range old Guérés unable to flee their attacked village. A woman said her father, husband and son were shot in front of her. Members of the Republican Forces abduct women and rape them in the towns where they find themselves between military movements. They burn entire villages. Without taking on such a considerable scale, the Republican Forces committed atrocities similar to those committed in the Far West when they took control of Abidjan.

At the end of the conflict, residents said some wells in the west of the country were filled with human remains. The scars of the violence that ravaged the territory remained visible in several neighborhoods of Abidjan, where mass graves were hastily dug on vacant lots where children played football. The streets remained strewn with corpses for several days, in particular at checkpoints set up by Laurent Gbagbo's militias. Residents said the smell had become so unbearable that they started burning the bodies themselves. In the neighborhoods of Yopougon and Koumassi, in particular, HumanRights Watch researchers were able to observe, several weeks after the end of the clashes, that all that remained of some victims were fragments of bones and large black spots on the asphalt. In Côte d'Ivoire, and particularly in the west, on the south coast and in Abidjan, the conflict has been devastating. Almost anyone can testify to the murder of a brother, the rape of a sister, the burning down of a house or the looting of all their possessions.

Following intense fighting in March in the far west of the country, the Republican Forces very quickly won Abidjan, with most of Laurent Gbagbo's supporters abandoning their position, with the exception of a few elite units and a few militias . The conflict is not over, however, and Abidjan is the scene of heavy weapon fire causing many civilian victims, probably perpetrated blindly by Laurent Gbagbo's supporters. The United Nations Security Council quickly authorizes its peacekeeping forces based in Côte d'Ivoire to "use all necessary means […] to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence […] including to prevent the use of weapons heavy attacks on the civilian population". During the week of April 4, the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire and the French forces of Operation Licorne attacked Laurent Gbagbo's military positions in Abidjan culminating in the bombardment from his residence on April 11. On the same day, the Republican Forces stormed the building and arrested Laurent Gbagbo as well as his wife and several of his supporters. Armed groups that remained loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, however, did not admit defeat and killed, in Abidjan alone, 100 people the day after the arrest of their leader. The fighting definitely ends in mid-May.

The scale and methodical organization of the crimes committed by both sides, namely murders, rapes, persecution of individuals and groups on the basis of political, ethnic and national criteria, suggests that this was a widespread and systematic attack. According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, such acts, when they are part of an "attack against any civilian population", constitute crimes against humanity. Both sides have also committed war crimes, including intentionally directing attacks against civilians and killing people not taking direct part in hostilities. Those exercising command powers who should have known of such serious crimes and failed to prevent them, or who failed to investigate and prosecute their alleged perpetrators, must be held to account.

Given the evidence contained in this report and the seriousness of the crimes committed, impartial justice must imperatively be rendered in Côte d'Ivoire, to repair the harm suffered by the victims, establish the rule of law and prevent other similar atrocities from occurring. It should be noted in this regard that President Ouattara asked the International Criminal Court to investigate serious crimes committed after November 28, 2010. On October 3, 2011, the ICC pre-trial chamber granted the June 23 prosecutor to open such an investigation. The International Criminal Court has an important role to play so that these heinous acts do not go unpunished. Trials must also be held at the national level, not only because the ICC has in the past only brought a small number of prosecutions in situations that have been the subject of investigations, but also because such trials, carried out in accordance with international standards, have a stronger resonance among the populations concerned and that efforts to impose accountability at the local level promote the restoration of the rule of law.

So far, it is clear that the national judicial authorities have not shown themselves to be impartial. At the time of writing this report, military and civilian prosecutors have charged at least 118 supporters of Laurent Gbagbo. Several of them, including General Dogbo Blé, of the Republican Guard, and General Guiai Bi Poin, of the Security Operations Command Center (CECOS), have been implicated by HumanRights Watch for their alleged role in the commission of crimes serious. A military prosecutor has charged several former pro-Gbagbo military leaders with murder, rape and concealment of bodies. The charges cite several specific events, documented by Human Rights Watch, such as the one on March 3 in which seven women participating in a peaceful assembly along with thousands of others were murdered. Laurent Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, are currently in pre-trial detention. They were both charged with economic crimes on August 18, 2011, after the Ivorian government announced its request to the ICC to open an investigation into their possible involvement in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity.Human Rights Watch has consistently advocated for the prosecution of Laurent Gbagbo's forces responsible for serious crimes, stressing that any immunity or proposed amnesty for serious crimes—including for Laurent Gbagbo, given evidence of his role in such crimes —would be contrary not only to the principles and practice of international law but to the respect due to victims. Human Rights Watch also calls on neighboring states to cooperate by arresting and extraditing those who, like Young Patriots leader Charles Blé Goudé, allegedly committed such crimes and found refuge elsewhere.

Unlike the prosecutions against the Gbagbo camp, no member of the Republican Forces has been arrested for crimes committed during the conflict. Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Inquiry, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights have all documented serious crimes committed by the Republican Forces. While President Ouattara and Minister of Justice Jeannot Kouadio Ahoussou have always promised that all crimes will be punished, the gap between rhetoric and reality could mark the return of impunity. The government must immediately send a message indicating that a new era of impartial justice and respect for human rights is beginning, and not an era of winner's justice which would seriously compromise national reconciliation. Human Rights Watches believes that the Ouattara government's most urgent task is to deliver to victims on both sides the justice they demand and deserve after a decade of abuse.

Human Rights Watch also urges the government to ensure that perpetrators of human rights violations are not called upon to serve in the new Ivorian army, gendarmerie, and police. Instead of robbing and mistreating the population, security forces should protect civilians and impartially investigate crimes and misdemeanors. The first signs are extremely negative, Alassane Ouattara having promoted on August 3 several commanders strongly suspected of being the perpetrators of serious violations of international law, in particular Martin Fofié, who has been on the United Nations Security Council sanctions list since 2006 for having commanded troops implicated in summary executions and engaged child soldiers. This appointment calls into question the President's promises of justice, as well as his commitments to the constitution of security forces acting in accordance with the law.

Côte d'Ivoire's international partners should demand that alleged perpetrators of serious crimes be held impartially to account, and should also help the government identify and overcome obstacles to domestic trials serious crimes. The prosecutor at the International Criminal Court should revise his request for the investigation to cover all crimes committed before the post-election period, which would at best end a decade of impunity. The United Nations operation in Côte d'Ivoire should organize joint patrols with the Ivorian forces during the next legislative elections and participate actively in disarmament efforts. In this regard, we must welcome the strong measures adopted by the peacekeeping operation and, in particular, the deployment of reinforcements in the west of the country in advance of the legislative elections.

Finally, Human Rights Watch calls on the Security Council and the Secretary-General of the United Nations to publish as soon as possible the 2004 report of the international commission of inquiry into the allegations of human rights violations committed during the civil war. from 2002-2003. Many of the people named in the confidential annex to the 2004 report as the main perpetrators of serious crimes remained in power and continued to instigate and supervise serious crimes during the 2010-2011 conflict; it is possible that their names also appear in the confidential appendix to the commission of inquiry's 2011 report. These two annexes should be published or, at the very least, communicated to those most responsible for justice efforts in Côte d'Ivoire: President Alassane Ouattara, Minister of Justice Jeannot Ahoussou and Abidjan prosecutor Simplice Koffi.

Thousands of people in Côte d’Ivoire have lost loved ones and suffered enormously during the recent outbreak of violence. Most of them were targeted because of their political or ethnic affiliation. Discrimination and incitement to hatred must end, as must the impunity that has long undermined security in Côte d'Ivoire. To regain Côte d'Ivoire's once lauded status of stability and prosperity, the Ouattara government must watch over and consent to the pursuit of impartial justice. The conflicts in Côte d'Ivoire illustrate the serious consequences that follow when security forces, militias and political leaders act above the law. If the Ouattara government does not quickly learn from this and prosecute the members of the Republican Forces responsible for crimes during the post-election period with the same fervor as it shows towards the supporters of Laurent Gbagbo, the Côte d' Ivoire could sink back into violence and vigilantism. While it may be politically difficult to prosecute some commanders implicated in crimes, it would be far more damaging to the country's stability and respect for the rule of law to once again ignore the clear calls for justice from victims.

To President Alassane Ouattara, Minister of Justice Jeannot Kouadio Ahoussou and Minister of Interior Hamed Bakayoko

To Charles Konan Banny, President of the Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission

To the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI)

To the United Nations Security Council

To the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

To the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States

To the Government of Liberia

To neighboring countries where alleged perpetrators of serious crimes may have taken refuge

To international donors, including the European Union, France and the United States

This report is based primarily on six research missions conducted between December 2010 and July 2011. Human Rights Watch researchers conducted their investigations in Abidjan in January, March, May and July 2011, and along the Ivorian-Liberian border in December 2010 and March and April 2011. Between these field research missions, Human Rights Watch conducted additional interviews by telephone.

In total, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 500 victims and direct witnesses of post-election violence, including supporters from both political camps, people from the main Côte d'Ivoire ethnic groups and from neighboring West African countries, as well as members of the armed forces on both sides. Human Rights Watch also spoke with diplomats in Abidjan, New York, Washington, and Paris; Ouattara government officials; health personnel; representatives of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire; members of the international commission of inquiry; and representatives of human rights and humanitarian organizations.

Parts of this report have already been made public in detailed press releases issued by Human Rights Watch after four of the six research missions. This information was published quickly to denounce the situation without delay in view of the rapid evolution of the crisis. This report contains the full post-election investigation by Human Rights Watch, including new, previously unpublished information.

Given the extremely tense situation throughout the crisis, it was essential to take all necessary precautions to ensure that victims who agreed to speak to Human Rights Watch could not be subject to reprisals. Human Rights Watch often identified victims and witnesses with the help of numerous local organizations, local officials from President Ouattara's RHDP political coalition, journalists, and representatives of immigrant communities.

Throughout the crisis, Human Rights Watch has worked to impartially and objectively investigate abuses by both sides and to maintain regular contact with well-connected groups and individuals on each side. The description of the events is based on information verified and corroborated by numerous direct sources, and in particular by victims and eyewitnesses, as well as by examining the injuries of the victims and visiting the places where these events occurred. Before accusing an individual or armed group of certain crimes, Human Rights Watch cross-checked information with other sources, including victims, eyewitnesses, and other alleged perpetrators.

The interviews were mainly conducted in French or, in some cases, in one of the languages ​​used by the different ethnic groups, with translation into French by an interpreter.

In the interest of confidentiality and witness protection, Human Rights Watch has refrained from publishing the names of witnesses and any information that could identify them.

Since 1960, the year of its independence, until the end of the 1980s, Côte d'Ivoire has been hailed for its economic prosperity and relative stability. However, behind the harmony of the facade, from the first years of independence, worrying cracks appear, along political, ethnic and geographical fault lines. With the same three actors at the forefront of the political scene since 1993—current President Alassane Ouattara and former Presidents Laurent Gbagbo and Henri KonanBédié—the edifice was shattered with the 1999 coup and the 2002 armed conflict. -2003 and, as a high point, the post-electoral violence perpetrated from November 2010 to May 2011. The perpetrators of the serious crimes committed during the decade of violence which preceded the 2010 elections have not been brought to justice, developing a feeling of impunity particularly prevalent within the security forces of Laurent Gbagbo and militias loyal to him, as well as among the rebels of the New Forces who have become the Republican Forces of Alassane Ouattara.

From independence to the 2000 elections

Under the reign of President and father of the nation Félix Houphouët-Boigny, from 1960, the year of independence, to the 1990s, Côte d'Ivoire became the one of the main economic powers of West Africa and one of the world's largest producers of cocoa and coffee. During all these years, the country pursued an "open door" immigration policy which, given its relative stability and prosperity, attracted many workers, mainly from member countries of the regional economic bloc of ECOWAS, the Economic Community of 'West Africa. These migrant workers will at some point represent about 26 percent of the population. Félix Houphouët-Boigny, a Catholic from the Baoulé ethnic group, leads a government which in theory reflects the ethnic and religious composition of the country. Ethnic tensions, which are rather rare, are severely repressed.[1]

During his 33 years as President, Félix Houphouët-Boigny silenced all opposition political parties, allowing only his Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (the PDCI) to exist, until 1990 One of his main targets is a young history teacher and prominent trade unionist named Laurent Gbagbo. A fervent multi-party activist, he was imprisoned from 1971 to 1973 for "subversive" teaching and for having fomented insecurity.[2]After creating his political party, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), Laurent Gbagbo spent most of his years 1980 in exile in France. He returned to Côte d'Ivoire in 1988 as Secretary General of the FPI and stood against Félix Houphouët-Boigny in the country's first multiparty elections in 1990. FélixHouphouët-Boigny won by a wide margin, but Laurent Gbagbo won a seat in the the National Assembly.[3]

After his re-election, Félix Houphouët-Boigny appointed as Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara, an economist by training who held important positions within the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). ). Laurent Gbagbo quickly castigates this government led by “foreigners”.[4] The provocation, which specifically targets Alassane Ouattara, marks the beginning of a long campaign of contestation with political aims of the citizenship of Alassane Ouattara.[5] On March 6, 1992, Laurent Gbagbo was arrested for his role as a leader in major student demonstrations against the PDCI government and sentenced to two years in prison. animosity between the two men.[6]

When Félix Houphouët-Boigny died in 1993, coinciding with the constant deterioration of the Ivorian economy, political leaders favored the themes of nationality and ethnicity in order to rally support. The 1995 presidential elections were characterized by a veritable scramble for power after decades of a single party and brought into play the same main players who would oppose each other during the 2010 presidential elections: Henri Konan Bédié, who served as President on the death of Félix Houphouët- Boigny and led the PDCI, Laurent Gbagbo, secretary general of the FPI, and Alassane Ouattara, president of the Rally of Republicans (RDR). By targeting Alassane Ouattara, his main political rival, Henri KonanBédié developed the concept of Ivoirité—and expressed himself in an ultra-nationalist discourse redefining what it meant to “be Ivorian,” marginalizing Ivorians from the North and accusing immigrants of wanting to control the country. economy.[7] Alassane Ouattara, born in Dimbroko, a town in northern Côte d'Ivoire, to an Ivorian mother, spent most of his childhood in Upper Volta, which is now Burkina Faso. In the 1960s, he went to the United States to continue his studies there with a Voltaic passport, which he kept during the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, during which time he worked at the IMF and the BCEAO.[8] Henri Konan Bédié will strive to arouse anti-northern Ivorian and anti-immigrant sentiments. He thus managed to prevent Alassane Ouattara, whom he said was not of Ivorian origin, from standing for election.[9] The RDR then boycotted the elections, as did Laurent Gbagbo's FPI. Henri Konan Bédié wins easily.

On December 24, 1999, soldiers complaining of being poorly paid overthrew President Bédié and asked General Robert Guei, Bédié's Chief of Staff, to lead a government. Once in power, Robert Guei formed a rallying junta welcoming ministers from the main opposition parties, such as the RDR and the FPI, and pledged to end corruption and draft a new constitution. In July 2000, before the elections scheduled for October, it is clear that General Guein harbors political ambitions and that he too is ready to raise the specter of ethnicity to eliminate his political rivals. A widely criticized constitutional referendum is held, which leads to a new constitution setting much stricter conditions for accession to public office—both parents of any presidential candidate must be born in Côte d'Ivoire.[10]Alassane Ouattara and d Other candidates contest, in vain, these new provisions. On October 6, 2000, the Supreme Court excluded 14 of the 19 candidates from the presidential race, including Alassane Ouattara on citizenship grounds, and former President Bédié for not having submitted a valid medical certificate.[11]

The presidential elections are scheduled for October 22, 2000. The first results give the winner Laurent Gbagbo. General Guei then decided to dissolve the national electoral commission and proclaimed himself President—ironically foreshadowing the attitude of Laurent Gbagbo ten years later to stay in power. On October 24, 2000, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets and headed for the city center. President Robert Guei's presidential guard opens fire, causing many casualties. On October 25, 2000, abandoned by the army and the police, General Guei fled the country and Laurent Gbagbo declared himself President. The following day, Alassane Ouattara's RDR took to the streets to demand new elections, claiming that they had been arbitrarily prevented from running. Laurent Gbagbo refuses. The deadly clashes that ensued reflected the religious and ethnic divisions that ran through the country, with security forces and President Gbagbo's supporters clashing with the predominantly Muslim northern Ivorians who make up the hard core of RDR supporters.[12]

When Alassane Ouattara and the RDR prepare to take part in the December parliamentary elections, the Supreme Court once again bars his way for the same reasons. The RDR retaliated by calling for a boycott of the elections, taking to the streets in protest, and disrupting voting in many parts of the north. The clashes multiply until the vote. More than 200 people are killed and hundreds more injured in clashes on the sidelines of elections from October to December. Security forces open fire on protesters in the streets of Abidjan. They target hundreds of northern Ivorians and RDR supporters according to ethnic and religious criteria, who are arbitrarily arrested, detained and tortured. Security forces also commit rape and other human rights violations with the complicity of FPI supporters. A mass grave containing 57 bodies will later be discovered in the Abidjan district of Yopougon. Human Rights Watch and United Nations investigations will attribute direct responsibility for this massacre to members of the agenda. Yet the perpetrators of these and other election-related crimes will never be brought to justice—the prelude to a decade of impunity.[13]

Conflict and political-military stalemate

On September 19, 2002, rebels from the Patriotic Movement of Côte d'Ivoire (MPCI) attacked several strategic targets in Abidjan as well as the towns of Bouaké and Korhogo, in the north of the country .[14]Without however succeeding in taking Abidjan, the MPCI, soon joined by two rebel factions from the west of the country,[15] quickly managed to control the northern half of the Ivory Coast. The three rebel groups form a political-military alliance called the Forces Nouvelles, whose goal is to put an end to the political exclusion of northern Ivorians and discrimination against them, and to overthrow Laurent Gbagbo, whose legitimacy they contest because of flaws that marred the electoral process.[16]

The first response of the government of Laurent Gbagbo is to launch an operation in Abidjan in which the security forces invade poor neighborhoods occupied mainly by immigrants and Ivorians from the north. Under the pretext of searching for weapons and rebels, the security forces drive residents out of their homes, which are then burned or destroyed. The raids led to the displacement of 12,000 people and were accompanied by numerous arbitrary arrests and detentions, summary executions, rapes and disappearances. Moreover, acts of extortion are systematic and common.[17] For its part, the MPCI rebel group in the north killed at least 40 unarmed gendarmes and 30 members of their families in Bouaké between 6 and 8 October. Summary executions of prisoners who are members of Laurent Gbagbo's security forces are systematic.[18]

During the following months, armed clashes opposed the two camps. Fighting is particularly intense in the far west of the country, where both sides recruit Liberian mercenaries and where militias—often referred to as local self-defense groups—fight alongside Laurent Gbagbo's security forces.[19] However, violence is directed against civilians and does not take the form of direct clashes between opposing forces. Human Rights Watch established at the time the existence of serious crimes committed by both sides: summary executions, massacres, targeted sexual violence, indiscriminate firing from helicopters, arbitrary arrests and detentions by Laurent Gbagbo's government forces; abuses by state-backed militias, including assassinations; and summary executions, massacres, targeted sexual violence and acts of torture by the Forces Nouvelles. Liberian groups linked to both sides are implicated in numerous massacres of civilians, and fighting forces on both sides engage child soldiers.[20]

In May 2003, a ceasefire agreement officially ended the armed conflict between the government and the Forces nouvelles, although sporadic violations of the ceasefire continued until 2005. The country is divided into two —and he will remain until 2010—, the Forces nouvelles controlling the north of the country and the government, the South. Serious human rights abuses targeting civilian populations continue in both parts of the country. On March 25, 2004, Laurent Gbagbo's forces indiscriminately killed more than 100 civilians during a demonstration organized by opposition groups. Some 20 other people are abducted and disappear.[21]Violent pro-Gbagbo militias, such as FESCI and the Young Patriots, join security forces in intimidating, robbing and oppressing northern Ivorians, immigrants and anyone suspected of being in the opposition.[22]In the Forces Nouvelles-controlled north, commanders enriched themselves through looting and extortion. A zone of absolute lawlessness, arbitrary detentions, torture and summary executions of alleged government supporters continue.[23] Sexual violence against women and girls is widespread throughout the country. The armed forces and civilians terrorize women who do not benefit from any state protection, given the impotence of judicial and police institutions which are incapable of preventing violence, prosecuting their perpetrators and assisting the victims.[24]Nobody will be tried for serious crimes committed during the armed conflict of 2002-2003 and thereafter.

Peace agreements and peacekeeping force

At the end of hostilities, the warring parties sign several peace agreements containing provisions on the disarmament and reunification of the country. France, ECOWAS, the African Union and the United Nations are behind several initiatives to end the impasse. They all fail.[25]

On February 27, 2004, the United Nations Security Council set up a peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire, which took the name of United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI). The force, deployed on April 4, 2004, includes some 8,000 United Nations peacekeepers and nearly 1,000 police officers, supported by the Licorne force[26], which is made up of 5,000 more heavily armed French soldiers. The purpose of the operation is to monitor a buffer zone dividing the country from east to west called the "zone of confidence", which separates hostile Ivorian forces. The United Nations mission in Côte d'Ivoire is responsible for helping the government to put in implement the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration plan, and protect the civilian populations who find themselves under the imminent threat of violence. The United Nations Security Council also imposed an arms embargo on Côte d'Ivoire in November 2004.

In March 2007, President Laurent Gbagbo and Guillaume Soro's Forces Nouvelles signed the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, which was later supported by the African Union and the United Nations Security Council.[27]This agreement, the first to be directly negotiated by the main belligerents on their own initiative, led to the appointment of Guillaume Soro as Prime Minister in a government of national unity, raising hopes that Côte d'Ivoire would definitely end this situation of "no peace or war" . The agreement recalls several pre-established objectives in terms of disarmament, identification of citizens, voter registration and reunification of the country, and includes provisions on the unified armed forces and the return of state authorities to the North. The Ouagadougou political agreement also calls for the organization of presidential elections in early 2008, which will be postponed almost immediately. Citizen identification and voter registration operations are marked by riots and the shooting of demonstrators by security forces, with issues of nationality and ethnicity continuing to fuel resentment.[28] Laurent Gbagbo postponed the elections several times, claiming that the conditions provided for in the Ouagadougou political agreement were not met.[29] He thus remains in power for five more years at the end of his mandate, postponing the elections seven times. However, growing national and international pressure forced him to agree to hold elections in October 2010.

2010 elections and immediate aftermath

The first round of presidential elections in Côte d'Ivoire was held on October 31, 2010. He opposes in particular, as has been the case since the death of Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Alassane Ouattara, Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bédié. This first round is going off quietly with record turnout—more than 85 percent. Laurent Gbagbo gets 38.3 percent of the vote, Alassane Ouattara 32.08 percent, and Henri Konan Bédié comes third with 25.24 percent. None of the candidates obtaining a majority, a second round between Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara was organized on November 28.[30]Alassane Ouattara and Henri Konan Bédié had sworn to support in the second round whoever remained in the race against Laurent Gbagbo, forming a coalition of other minority political parties called the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP). However, it was difficult to say whether this coalition would hold up, given the past relationship between the two men and the longstanding marginalization of northern Ivorians by Henri Konan Bédié's PDCI and Laurent Gbagbo's FPI.

On December 2, Youssouf Bakayoko, president of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), announced the victory of Alassane Ouattara with 54.1 percent of the vote.[31]Observers, notably from the European Union and Center Carter , estimate the free and fair elections, with only a few irregularities. Less than twenty-four hours after the CEI's decision, Paul Yao N'Dre, president of the Constitutional Council and close ally of Laurent Gbagbo, annulled the commission's results on behalf of the institution and proclaimed Laurent Gbagbo the winner with 51.45 percent of the vote. . The Constitutional Council argues that the electoral commission did not respect the three-day deadline for announcing the results, disregarding the procrastination of Laurent Gbagbo's allies within the commission who do everything to block the announcement and even come to tear up result sheets in front of the cameras.[32] The Constitutional Council cancels hundreds of thousands of votes from the northern regions of the country massively supporting Alassane Ouattara, on the basis of alleged irregularities.

On December 3, in accordance with the procedures established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1765 and the political agreements signed by the protagonists of the conflict, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Choi Young-Jin, confirms the results of the electoral commission giving Alassane Ouattara the winner.[33]He also certifies that “the proclamation of the Constitutional Council [giving Laurent Gbagbo the winner] was not based on the facts”.[34] The Secretary-General and the United Nations Security Council endorse Alassane Ouattara's victory, which is also recognized by the African Union,[35]ECOWAS,[36]the European Union and the United States.

Quickly, Laurent Gbagbo was sworn in as President by the Constitutional Council on 4 December. For his part, Alassane Ouattara takes an oath by letter addressed to the Council. Both appoint a head of government and ministers. The confrontation begins. Laurent Gbagbo moved into government buildings and Alassane Ouattara established his headquarters at the Golf Hotel Abidjan. International organizations urge Laurent Gbagbo to leave power. In December, ECOWAS raises the possibility of a military intervention, but the African Union, some members of which like Angola and Gambia publicly support Laurent Gbagbo and others, like South Africa and Ghana, express sympathy towards this one, hastens to retaliate against the will of ECOWAS to play a decisive role in the resolution of the crisis. Its president, Victor Gbeho, will also later express his frustration with these African nations "calling for the marginalization of ECOWAS" and "compromising" his efforts to remove Laurent Gbagbo.[37]

On January 28, the African Union establishes a high-level panel to try to break the impasse.[38] Initially tasked with presenting recommendations within a month, its mandate was extended on February 28.[39] On March 10, the African Union once again confirms Alassane Ouattara's victory and invites Laurent Gbagbo to leave power.[40] The Gbagbo side rejects the decision and the armed forces of both sides threaten to start a civil war.[41]

Faced with Laurent Gbagbo's persistent refusal to cede power, the international community decided to exert financial pressure. The European Union and the United States institute financial and travel restrictions targeting Laurent Gbagbo and many of his close supporters. In addition, the European Union is implementing sanctions against legal persons, including several financial institutions and the port of Abidjan, suspected of financing the regime. The Central Bank of West Africa decides to seize the accounts of Côte d'Ivoire with the intention of further strangling Laurent Gbagbo financially. This responds by taking control of the banks—in order, it is said, to get their hands on the money that is there—many of which had decided to close their doors.[42]

Laurent Gbagbo continues to defy growing diplomatic and financial pressure. The Republican Forces, led by the Prime Minister of Alassane Ouattara, Guillaume Soro, and composed mainly of soldiers from the New Forces who controlled the north of Côte d'Ivoire for ten years, launched a military offensive at the end of February. Less than two months later, they control most of the country and arrest Laurent Gbagbo on April 11. The human cost of post-election violence, the result of 15 years of total impunity and stirring up the specter of ethnicity, is heavy. By the end of hostilities in May, more than 3,000 people had been killed and more than 150 women raped in that six-month period alone.

When there was no longer any doubt that Laurent Gbagbo had no intention of accepting the results of the elections, which were recognized by the international community and gave Alassane Ouattara the winner, Laurent Gbagbo's security forces took action with the aim of quell the opposition. Every time supporters of Alassane Ouattara have taken to the streets of Abidjan to protest, they have been harshly repressed—and particularly brutally on December 16 during a march on Gbagbo-controlled television, RTI (Radio Télévision Ivorian). Security forces fired live ammunition and threw fragmentation grenades, killing scores of protesters and injuring more. Repression intensified with the kidnapping and disappearance of local officials who were members of Alassane Ouattara's coalition in neighborhoods loyal to him. The bodies of many of them were later found by their relatives in the morgue, riddled with bullets. Security forces or pro-Gbagbo militias have also attacked women, raping them because of their political activism in support of Alassane Ouattara or that of their husband, who was sometimes shot dead before their eyes.

During this period, the main perpetrators of these crimes were elite units closely linked to Laurent Gbagbo, including the Republican Guard, the CECOS (Command Center for Security Operations, a rapid intervention unit), the BAE (Brigade anti -riot) and the CRS (Republican Security Company, an elite police unit). In some cases, these units have worked hand in hand with pro-Gbagbo militias, notably the Student and School Federation of Côte d'Ivoire (FESCI), a traditionally violent student association, and the Young Patriots, a youth movement founded and directed by Charles Blé Goudé, appointed Minister of Youth by Laurent Gbagbo in December 2010.

Opposite, the New Forces controlling the northern half of the country have engaged in acts of intimidation and violence against supporters of Laurent Gbagbo and have committed sexual violence against women. While the violence committed at that time by the Forces Nouvelles did not reach the level of that committed by the Gbagbo camp, it nevertheless presaged serious crimes that the Republican Forces would commit at a more advanced stage of the crisis.

Forcespro-Gbagbo

Excessive use of force against protesters

When supporters of Alassane Ouattara took to the streets to demonstrate in the aftermath of the November 28 second round of elections, Laurent Gbagbo's security forces countered them brutally and often fatally. Demonstrations during this period were mainly due to the December 2-3 controversy over the election results as well as the December 16 march on Ivorian Radio Television.

Security forces often—though not systematically—started with tear gas canisters and gunfire in the air. Within minutes, however, they were using deadly firearms—such as Kalashnikov rifles, automatic pistols, and fragmentation grenades—without the protesters' aggressive behavior or excessive violence necessitating such measures. Security forces continued to fire on protesters as they fled, killing dozens and injuring many more. Victims interviewed by Human Rights Watch testified to the particular dangerousness of fragmentation grenades, including a young man whose younger brother was killed by a grenade:

The firing of live ammunition and fragmentation grenades during these events disregards the requirements of absolute necessity and proportionality enshrined in the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Officials Law Enforcement and the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials.[44]Indeed, since the gatherings were, on the whole, peaceful in nature, it was appropriate to apply these basic principles , which provide that “law enforcement officials shall endeavor to disperse unlawful but non-violent assemblies without the use of force and, where this is not possible, limit the use of force to the minimum necessary”.[45] In several cases documented by Human Rights Watch during this period, the security forces and the militias supporting them went further, executing captured or detained protesters at point-blank range.

December 4: Treichville/Koumassi

On Saturday, December 4, supporters of Alassane Ouattara took to the streets in the pro-Ouattara neighborhoods of Treichville and Koumassi in southern Abidjan to celebrate the recognition by United Nations of Alassane Ouattara's victory and protest against Laurent Gbagbo's decision not to leave power. The security forces quickly suppressed this demonstration, killing at least four people, including three boys, and injuring dozens. Most of the injured were struck by fragmentation grenades that security forces fired or threw into the crowd, according to witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch.[46] None of the victims or any of the demonstrators who were around, however, seem to have behaved aggressively towards the security forces likely to provoke the use of even minimal force.

Around 9 a.m., a 14-year-old boy from the Koumassi district followed his older brother to the Kahira crossroads, curious to see the young people gathering there to celebrate the news. According to several witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch, a CECOS contingent arrived about an hour later in two vehicles, numbered 51 and 53, accompanied by several Republican Guard units.[47] The older brother told Human Rights Watch what happened next:

Less than 500 meters further on, at the Saint-Étienne crossroads, near the large Koumassi market, two other boys were killed by grenade fire and a third very seriously injured during a gathering of around a hundred supporters of Alassane Ouattara.[49]According to three witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch, CECOS was also the main force present here, accompanied by a few members of the CRS and hooded men in civilian clothes. A young man who saw his 12-year-old brother killed in front of him by a fragmentation grenade told Human Rights Watch: “They were boys. Not armed men. Boys having fun in the street during the demonstration. Who can kill unarmed boys? »[50]

A similar demonstration bringing together many supporters of Alassane Ouattara took place in the Treichville neighborhood on the morning of December 4, at the intersection of Avenue 16 and Street 21. Human Rights Watch interviewed three people present during this demonstration. Two of them were seriously injured by fragmentation grenades, and the third by a bullet hitting her in the hand as she was fleeing, after members of the CRS and military forces had opened fire. A protester seriously injured in the hand and back by grenade shrapnel saw his friend killed by a point-blank shot.[51]Another protester saw CRS members rolling grenades into the crowd.[52] From the first explosions, he tried to flee, but the explosion of another grenade seriously injured him, forcing him to walk with a cane. More than six weeks later, during an interview with Human Rights Watch, he was still walking with a cane.

December 16 march on RTI

On December 14, the Ouattara government called on its supporters to take part in a march on December 16 to take control of the Ivorian Radio Television—an indispensable instrument of control to Laurent Gbagbo and calls for violence against pro-Ouattara [see Incitement to violence by the Gbagbo camp, below]. Laurent Gbagbo responded by strengthening the military presence in Abidjan, particularly around the RTI. The thousands of people who took to the streets on December 16 were once again quickly and severely repressed by Laurent Gbagbo's security forces. Human Rights Watch documented the killing of at least 32 protesters, some of them as a result of cluster grenades and point-blank gunshots. The overwhelming majority of protesters appear to have behaved peacefully throughout the events; however, Human Rights Watch has documented the killing of several members of Laurent Gbagbo's security forces—one of whom was killed by a raging mob after shooting several demonstrators from the roof of a building.

A 24-year-old man, who arrived 600 meters from the RTI, described the panic of protesters faced with the crossfire of grenades and rifles:

Another protester interviewed by Human Rights Watch witnessed the shooting death of two other people. The shooters wore in this case a black uniform, as usually worn by police units. Six other people, including the person being interrogated, were injured by grenade fire. The 29-year-old described the scene after being injured:

Targeted killings and enforced disappearances of pro-Ouattara activists

In addition to cracking down on protests, Laurent Gbagbo's security forces have murdered and abducted local politicians and their civil society activist allies. Human Rights Watch documented more than ten cases of enforced disappearances or summary executions that occurred around the December 16 march. The evidence gathered strongly suggests that these abuses were the result of an organized campaign to select, seek out and abduct specific individuals linked to Alassane Ouattara's political coalition. Let us mention in particular the following facts:

Human Rights Watch also documented the targeted abduction and killing of several people who had monitored ballot boxes at a devote office in Abobo for the RHDP. A family member of one of the victims said:

In addition to these documented disappearances and attempted abductions, Human Rights Watch received statements from more than a dozen neighbors and relatives of 4x4 vehicles with armed men in camouflage uniforms on board. who came to the homes of RHDP community leaders, sometimes repeatedly. Many RHDP officials in Abidjan were forced to live in landestinity for several months.

Killings of suspected opponents by pro-Gbagbo militias

Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that they saw men beaten to death with bricks, clubs and logs, or shot by members of pro-Gbagbo militias at wild checkpoints they had erected. Such crimes, targeting northern Ivorians and West African immigrants, were observed throughout the post-electoral crisis.

Human Rights Watch researchers documented the killing of at least 13 men at checkpoints erected by pro-Gbagbo militias in the days following the December 16 march. In many cases, witnesses said that police, gendarmes and other members of the security forces clearly sided with the militias by failing to intervene when abuses were being committed, openly approving of them during or after them, or shooting even on the bodies of the victims. Many of these murders were committed within a few meters of a police station. As part of the police crackdown on demonstrations organized by pro-Ouattara, witnesses said that pro-Gbagbo militias assisted the security forces, sometimes firing their Kalashnikovs, pistols or shotguns at unarmed demonstrators. .

Most of the killings by the militias took place in broad daylight. Victims were usually stopped at illegal checkpoints and ordered to present their identity cards. If the militiamen considered that the clothing or the name of those arrested were of the Muslim type or established their belonging to an ethnic group supporting Alassane Ouattara, they surrounded them, accused them of being "protesters" or "rebels" and beat them to death with iron bars, logs and bricks. The victims and witnesses in most cases identified the aggressors as being members of FESCI or the Young Patriots, either because these victims or witnesses knew them personally, or because the aggressors had presented themselves as such, or even because the location of the assault suggested so—near a Young Patriots meeting place or a FESCI university residence.[62]

A woman who lives in the Riviera II neighborhood describes the murder of a youth by a group of FESCI members who live in the university halls of residence near her:

A resident of Abobo described the January 13 killing of two young men by Young Patriots activists manning a checkpoint just outside their headquarters in the neighborhood. That same day, five police officers were killed in this neighborhood by unidentified assailants linked, according to the Gbagbo government, to pro-Ouattara forces. The resident said:

Sexual violence

Human Rights Watch documented the gang-rapes of 14 women in Abobo by members of the security forces or pro-Gbagbo militias—acting in concert in several cases—in the days following the march December 16. Among the victims were three young girls, two aged 16 and one aged 17, and an eight-month-pregnant woman. In three of these cases, the spouses of the victims were murdered at the same time. The attackers often gave their gesture a political motivation, telling their victims to share their "problem" with Alassane Ouattara.

A 25-year-old woman gang-raped along with several other women on their way home from the December 16 march, painstakingly told Human Rights Watch about her assault:

Another 25-year-old woman who was raped by three soldiers and a civilian saw her husband executed in front of her on December 17:

The assaults continued in the neighborhood for several days after the December 16 march. one o'clock in the morning. The six attackers, five of them in black uniforms, knocked on the door of their apartment in the Abobo neighborhood and demanded that the women open the door to let the police in. Once the door opened, the men “ran into us—two of them used me; I didn't want what they were doing; they beat me until I had no choice. […] When they were done, they took our sister, and we couldn't find her. They raped me in the bedroom, my sister in the living room, and the other [sister] who disappeared right outside the courtyard.”[67]

Pro-Ouattara forces in the north of the country

After the elections, Forces Nouvelles soldiers intimidated, threatened and, in a few cases, killed or raped people linked to the political party of Laurent Gbagbo in the North, in addition to stealing their property. Human Rights Watch interviewed three women who were raped during this period. The abuses were on a much smaller scale than those committed by Laurent Gbagbo's forces in Abidjan.

Between the second round of elections and February 24, when clashes erupted in the far west of the country between armed forces on both sides, nearly 40,000 refugees crossed the border into Liberia—the vast majority of them fleeing the area controlled by the Forces nouvelles from the Dix-Huit Montagnes to take refuge in Nimba county in Liberia.[68]When Human Rights Watch conducted its first mission along the Ivorian-Liberian border in late December 2010, the number of refugees had already reached 13 000.[69]

Dozens of refugees interviewed at the time by Human Rights Watch said they had left because they had been harassed or intimidated by Forces Nouvelles soldiers on the eve and after the second round of elections. For the most part, these refugees had actively participated or shown their support for Laurent Gbagbo's campaign. A 40-year-old man told Human Rights Watch that he was beaten by Forces Nouvelles soldiers for representing Laurent Gbagbo's party at a polling station in the far west of the country. He showed Human Rights Watch his scars, still visible a month later, on his skull and right hand. He fled to Liberia when he heard from friends that Forces Nouvelles soldiers were again looking for him.[70]

When the Constitutional Court declared Laurent Gbagbo the winner, witnesses said that dozens of Forces Nouvelles soldiers almost immediately left their Danané stronghold to deploy in villages supposed to support Laurent Gbagbo. The refugees fled into the bush when the soldiers arrived, including a 38-year-old man from the village of Mahapleu:

In one particularly heinous case, a woman described her husband being abducted and then beaten, along with her 7-year-old son, who died of his injuries:

Human Rights Watch also documented abuses committed in at least three villages by the Forces Nouvelles against supporters of Laurent Gbagbo, who looted homes and businesses and took motorcycles, goods, money and other valuables. A 37-year-old man living in one of these villages told Human Rights Watch:

Most refugees told Human Rights Watch that they had fled for fear of abuse, as memories of the 2002-2003 armed conflict and its aftermath—including abuses by the Forces Nouvelles—remained particularly vivid. A 39-year-old refugee from Zouan-Hounien said:

The Forces Nouvelles soldiers also attacked women whom they sexually assaulted for their real or presumed support for Laurent Gbagbo. Human Rights Watch documented three cases of rape during this period immediately after the second round of elections, including the rape of the wife of a Laurent Gbagbo campaign official by Forces Nouvelles soldiers who came to fetch her husband.[75]A woman. The 36-year-old witnessed from her home the rape of two other women from her village, including a pregnant woman who was raped by four Forces nouvelles soldiers.[76]Several refugees in Liberia also told Human Rights Watch that Forces nouvelles soldiers had come to their homes. villages and forced women to cook for them and, in some cases, to be their forced “wives.”[77]

At the end of January, the country was heading towards a full-scale armed conflict. The Gbagbo government and its staunchest supporters, mainly through RTI, the state television channel, have intensified their incitement to violence against supporters of Alassane Ouattara and United Nations personnel. “Foreigners”, meaning northern Ivorians and West African immigrants, faced a particularly intense inflammatory rhetoric. In addition, a surprise attack carried out in Abobo by a group calling itself the "Invisible Commando" led to the loss of control of certain areas of the district by the forces of Laurent Gbagbo. These two events—inciting xenophobia and the first sign of a military threat—provoked greater violence from Laurent Gbagbo's militias, who often did not hesitate to burn alive northern Ivorians and unfortunate West African immigrants. to pass through the ever-increasing number of checkpoints. a peaceful rally in Abobo, killing seven of them.

On the other side, the Invisible Commando was primarily responsible for documented abuses during this period, including an attack on civilians in a pro-Gbagbo village and the summary execution of prisoners who were members of Laurent Gbagbo's security forces. The Invisible Commando, while it included pro-Ouattara militants, had no clear chain of command with the Ouattara government. The one who appeared to be the head of the Invisible Commando, known as IB Coulibaly, was a former senior Forces Nouvelles commander who violently opposed Guillaume Soro over control of the rebel group in 2003.[78] This internal struggle will lead to the death of IB Coulibaly, killed by the Republican Forces of Guillaume Soro on April 27, 2011. But the separation between the forces of IBCoulibaly and those of Guillaume Soro was not always complete when the operations aimed at ousting Laurent Gbagbo continued; Many Abobo residents and sources close to the Forces Nouvelles told Human Rights Watch that certain elements under Guillaume Soro's ultimate command were in Abobo at the time and had also been implicated in summary executions.

Pro-Gbagbo forces

Incitement to violence by the Gbagbo camp

Throughout the post-election period, the Gbagbo camp has made the Ivorian Radio and Television (RTI) , the state channel, what could be described as a perpetual propaganda machine. Human Rights Watch researchers were able to view numerous programs that denounced "foreigners" and the United Nations, and called on Laurent Gbagbo's supporters to rise up against them. The term "foreigner" was constantly used by pro-Gbagbo activists to refer to West African immigrants and northern ethnic groups. Often such statements came from official government sources. In response to ECOWAS discussions in late December about possible military intervention, for example, Laurent Gbagbo and his spokesperson issued veiled threats to West African immigrants in the event of such an intervention.[79]

On January 10, the United Nations Security Council demanded "an immediate end to the use of the media, especially through RTI, to spread false information and incite hatred and violence, including against the UN”.[80] In a January 13 article, Reporters Without Borders said journalists believed to be close to Alassane Ouattara had been "blacklisted" by "the state channel, in particular Radio-Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI), and [the daily] Fraternité Matin ”—both having become more and more virulent.[81] On January 19, the UN Secretary-General's Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and on the Responsibility to Protect expressed serious concern "to learn that hate speech aimed at inciting violent attacks against certain ethnic and national groups [continues] to be held”.[82]

However, incitement to violence has become more and more frequent and virulent. On February 25, during a meeting subsequently broadcast on television, Charles Blé Goudé made the following remarks to these supporters:

In the same broadcast, a member of the Young Patriots declared: "If you are Ivorian, you must denounce the [foreigners] at all times, and if you do not denounce them, it is because you are a rebel, you are the enemy of Côte d'Ivoire, and you must be treated as such. Indeed, as illustrated in detail below, Human Rights Watch has documented a significant increase in the number of checkpoints—and the number of targeted attacks, including killings, against supposedly pro-Ouattara groups—over the days following the television broadcast. Some witnesses to the abuses claimed to have heard militiamen refer to the “order” of Charles BléGoudé.

Vitriol attacks against pro-Ouattara groups continued to escalate as fighting between pro-Ouattara forces and pro-Gbagbo forces openly began. By mid-March, these attacks had often become extremely dehumanizing, comparing these groups to animals and encouraging the belief that all supporters of Alassane Ouattara were "rebels". In the March 9-15 edition of the newspaper Le Temps, formerly owned by Laurent Gbagbo's second wife, Nadiana Bemba, and still close to the Gbagbo regime, a journalist wrote:

The Associated Press also reported that during an RTI broadcast at the time, "the presenter smiled as he recounted an incident in which a dozen suspected rebels were killed by pro-Gbagbo soldiers in the center of 'Abidjan, saying of them that they had been shot down like weak birds. Images of the bloodied bodies were played alongside images of soldiers clapping hands and a cheering crowd.”[85]

On March 18, a day after Laurent Gbagbo's forces launched mortars at a market in Abobo that killed some 25 civilians, Laurent Gbagbo's spokesman, Ahoua Don Mello, told RTI “His Excellency […] Laurent Gbagbo asks Ivorians to take their responsibilities and calls on citizens and the security forces to cooperate more […] in order to neutralize any suspicious presence in our environment. The next day, Charles Blé Goudé called on his young militants to “enroll in the army in order to liberate Côte d’Ivoire from these bandits.”[87] Both statements officially endorse a long-standing reality of the presence of violent pro-Gbagbo militias at the center of the regime's defense efforts. In doing so, as throughout the crisis, no attempt was made to distinguish civilians from military targets. Northern Ivorians and West African immigrants, continually dehumanized, all represented a potential “suspicious presence” that needed to be “neutralized”—because the “vermin” did not stand out. Hundreds of other abuses followed.

Targeted violence against West African immigrants in Abidjan

As tensions escalated in February, immigrants from Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Niger and Nigeria were subject to a steady and increasingly violent stream of abuses committed by militiamen and members of Laurent Gbagbo's security forces. Scores of West African immigrants interviewed by Human Rights Watch said the violence began in late December after the regional ECOWAS body recognized Alassane Ouattara as president and openly discussed the possibility of military intervention to remove Laurent Gbagbo from office. . However, according to them, the attacks greatly intensified after the February 24 clashes between the two armed forces in Abobo and the neighboring town of Anyama, as well as after a February 25 televised meeting during which Charles Blé Goudé called on the pro-Gbagbo young people to set up roadblocks and "denounce" foreigners. Human Rights Watch documented the killing of at least 32 West African immigrants and northern Ivorians during this period; 14 of them were beaten up or burned alive. In addition, widespread looting of many shops and homes they owned was perpetrated, as well as the systematic expulsion of West African immigrants from at least three neighborhoods in Abidjan after February 25.

The majority of these attacks took place in the neighborhoods of Yopougon, Port-Bouët and Cocody in Abidjan, where pro-Gbagbo militias were very present. Many victims claimed to have heard militiamen refer to Charles Blé Goudé's "order" as they committed abuses against them, including a shopkeeper who, during a March 1 attack, heard the militiamen say: " Our general [BléGoudé] sent us to secure this neighborhood, which means that all [...] Mossis [an ethnic group from Burkina Faso], Malians [...] must leave this place. [88] On the day of Charles Blé Goudé's speech, two young porters from the Yopougon market were tied up, thrown into their handcarts and burned alive.[89] On March 3, a disabled Burkina Faso man accused by militiamen of hiding rebels in his home was taken to an abandoned building in Port-Bouët and burned alive.[90]

A 21-year-old Malian boy who was detained with six other men he believed to be West African immigrants described how five of them were executed at close range by pro-Gbagbo militiamen after being arrested on March 6 in the streets of Yopougon:

In addition to the killings, security forces and militias destroyed homes and businesses of supporters of Alassane Ouattara. Several Malian and Nigerian traders who sold gasoline, timber and auto parts at a market in the Sebroko district, an area dominated by West African merchants, described how, on February 24, members of the Republican Guard arrived to disperse a peaceful protest which was held nearby and then opened fire and threw grenades into their stores, causing a huge fire and destroying at least 35 stores. A Malian said he heard a soldier shout: “Say goodbye to your stores! before opening fire on a stand of highly flammable items.[92] Witnesses said that as a group of Malians tried to salvage items from their burning stores, the Republican Guard fired on them, killing two people.[93]

An elderly man of Malian nationality who had lived in the Yopougon neighborhood for 35 years also described how on February 10, militiamen manning a checkpoint near his house set fire to it while he, his three wives and their 15 children were asleep—forcing them to flee the neighborhood. As they were leaving, the Young Patriots warned him never to return or they would "cut him and his family to pieces."[94]

Human Rights Watch has documented several attacks by militia groups and security forces acting in concert. A Nigerian trader thus described an attack perpetrated on March 1 by CECOS and militiamen during which the assailants burned two Nigerians alive, one a wood seller and the other a taxi driver wearing traditional Muslim dress:

Ivorians from the north of the country were also targeted, as recounted by a witness who, in late February, saw militiamen burn one man alive and slit the throat of another at a checkpoint in Yopougon:

Attacks on mosques, Muslims and imams

On several occasions during the crisis, pro-Gbagbo forces, including elite security force units and militias, attacked mosques and executed imams in a targeted manner. Neither former President Gbagbo nor his military or dignitaries have denounced these attacks against individuals and religious institutions. In a country divided relatively evenly between Muslims and Christians, Alassane Ouattara's political base of northern ethnic groups was predominantly, but certainly not exclusively, Muslim,[98] while Laurent Gbagbo's supporters and activists were predominantly Christian.[99] As with ethnicity, however, religion is intertwined with politics in Côte d'Ivoire, and it is often difficult to disentangle the primary motivation for some attacks. For the vast majority of Ivorians, there is no inter-religious division or hostility, but with the intensification of the crisis, the association between Alassane Ouattara and Muslim supporters has led to a large number of attacks against institutions and of Muslim leaders. Such attacks could well be considered war crimes under the Rome Statute and international humanitarian law.[100]

The first such attacks took place on 17 December. Two mosques in Abobo were targeted by rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at Friday prayer time, and another mosque was attacked in Bassam, a coastal town about 20 kilometers from Abidjan.[101] A witness to the Abobo attacks told Human Rights Watch what he saw:

In late February, with escalating tensions and frequent fighting in Abobo and the Far West, mosques became the target of more attacks by pro-Gbagbo militiamen. The Associated Press reported at least ten attacks on mosques between late February and late March.[103] According to testimonies collected by Human Rights Watch, during the single day of February 25, another Friday, the holy day for Muslims, three mosques in Yopougon were attacked. An imam said he received a phone call the day before the attack. His interlocutor is said to have threatened to “burn the mosques because we know that you hide weapons there. Then we will go to the imam.”[104] Three 4x4s arrived the next day with masked youths on board who opened fire inside the mosque and stole or destroyed everything there. None of the 15 people in the mosque were injured, even though the attackers kept saying they were going to kill them.[105]

In the sub-district of Doukouré, in Yopougon, a mosque was the target of an attack on the same day. A 42-year-old man who worked at the mosque witnessed its destruction:

A second witness said he saw a person, who was present at the mosque at the time of the attack, being shot and killed as he tried to flee.[107] Residents found the bodies of at least six suspected supporters of Alassane Ouattara the next day in the street outside the mosque.[108] A Human Rights Watch researcher visited the mosque on March 9; the mosque and surrounding buildings were almost completely destroyed. The roof had collapsed following the fire, bullet holes were visible in the ground, as well as traces of fire and debris all over the interior and burnt Korans which had been collected in a cardboard box.

Muslims told Human Rights Watch that it has become virtually impossible to wear the boubou—a traditional garment often associated with Muslims in Côte d'Ivoire—in public. Pro-Gbagbo militiamen manning checkpoints targeted people wearing this garment as they identified them as supporters of Alassane Ouattara. Imams and other Muslim leaders were often targets of violence. Human Rights Watch spoke with a witness who witnessed the March 9 targeted abduction of an imam and his son in Bloléquin by pro-Gbagbo militiamen.[109] According to news reports, their bodies were found the next day in the street, riddled with bullets.[110] Another witness recounted the targeted killing of an imam in his home in Duékoué on March 28 by pro-Gbagbo militiamen.[111] The Superior Council of Imams, for which the slain imam was a spokesperson in Duékoué, reported that his body and house were then burned.[112] News reports reported other executions of Muslim religious leaders in Abidjan, including March 15 in Yopougon and March 19 in Adjamé.[113]

Despite repeated attacks, Muslim leaders have consistently urged worshipers not to let the conflict take on a religious dimension, including in a March 18 statement.[114] Indeed, there have been comparatively few attacks on churches by the Republican Forces. Human Rights Watch received credible information from an international organization regarding the ransacking of a Cocody church in mid-April, in which church officials present were threatened for supporting Laurent Gbagbo. Human Rights Watch also documented the partial destruction in early May of a church in Yopougon where many Gbagbo supporters had sought refuge—although the damage caused was, according to the witness, the result of fighting between soldiers and alleged former militiamen. of Laurent Gbagbo present among the crowd taking refuge in the church, and not motivated by anti-Christian sentiments.[115]

Targeted rapes and enforced disappearances of supporters of Alassane Ouattara

After sporadic fighting between Laurent Gbagbo's armed forces and pro-Ouattara forces began in Abobo on February 24, militiamen and members of the security forces of Laurent Gbagbo have in concert committed another series of targeted rapes and enforced disappearances. Human Rights Watch documented on February 25 alone the rape of nine women from Abobo by these groups; all the victims were active and public members of the political party of Alassane Ouattara.

Of these nine women, seven were taken from their homes to a building under construction, where they were raped by one or more men. In all cases, the assailants clearly expressed the political motive for the sexual assault. described the February 25 attack to Human Rights Watch:

Human Rights Watch documented seven enforced disappearances on February 25 of men linked to the political party of Alassane Ouattara. The witnesses generally pointed to members of CECOS, as well as pro-Gbagbo militiamen. In two cases, women were raped in front of family members, and the husband and father of the victims then "disappeared". was arrested and then taken away by a group of police and militiamen. She said she was raped during the incident.[117] A few witnesses, including a 34-year-old woman whose husband was abducted on February 25, said armed men came to their home with a list of the names of their family members:

Another RHDP leader living in the Riviera Palmière neighborhood was kidnapped on February 10 by three armed men in green camouflage uniforms. A witness heard one of the gunmen say, "You're the one behind Alassane, we've been sent to get you", and he said the gunmen fired in the air when a group of people approached the car in an attempt to free the victim.[119]

Violent crackdown on protests

Laurent Gbagbo's security forces continued to violently crack down on protests during this period, with Human Rights Watch documenting the killings of 25 protesters between February 21 and March 8. Many other people were seriously injured by bullets, fragmentation grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, and an unidentified weapon fired from a tank.

On February 21, in the Koumassi neighborhood, three witnesses told Human Rights Watch that security forces fired at least two rocket-propelled grenades into a crowd of around 100 protesters, killing at least four people and hurting many others. Witnesses added that security forces, including members of CECOS, also fired live ammunition into the crowd and threw fragmentation grenades.[120] A protester said: “First they shot at us, then they launched rockets directly into the crowd. I saw several dead, including a Malian whose arm was completely torn off. His intestines were completely sticking out of his body. »[121]

The same day, in the Treichville district, around 9 a.m., Republican Guard troops arrived in a convoy of trucks and opened fire on demonstrators gathered at the intersection of Avenue 16 and Streets 17 and 21 A witness told Human Rights Watch: “They arrived and immediately opened fire with live ammunition. A young man who was not far from me was shot in the head; it was as if part of his face had been ripped off. He is one of at least two people I have seen killed with my own eyes. »[122]

On March 3, in an incident that illustrated the brutality with which Gbagbo was trying to cling to power, security forces killed seven women who were demonstrating peacefully with thousands of other women in the neighborhood of Abobo . As these women arrived at the agreed meeting place, a green van equipped with a machine gun, a police transport truck, an army tank wearing green camouflage and a gendarmerie tank passed nearby. Three witnesses told Human Rights Watch that the army tank fired a heavy, large-caliber weapon. Almost simultaneously, an individual in a green uniform and wearing a military helmet opened fire with a machine gun mounted in the back of a pick-up truck.[123]A doctor who treated several of the women who did not survive said that their injuries were obviously caused by heavy weapons, not by simple bullets.[124] The doctor, as well as two witnesses present at the scene, told Human Rights Watch that the head of one of the victims had been completely severed from his body.[125] Other victims, including two who did not survive their serious injuries, bore machine gun bullet wounds.[126]

Human Rights Watch also documented seven victims killed by stray bullets between March 4 and 15 in Abobo during indiscriminate machine-gun fire by Gbagbo's security forces. More than a dozen residents of Abobo described how security force vehicles sped through territory controlled by pro-Ouattara forces several times a day, firing Kalashnikovs in all directions—sometimes in the air, other times towards people in the streets. Daily attacks have led to massive internal displacement of Abobo residents.

A doctor at a hospital in Abobo told Human Rights Watch that he performed surgery on 108 people between February 28 and March 8 following the post-election violence, all but four of which involved gunshot wounds or caused by heavy weapon fire from Gbagbo's security forces. The doctor was unable to specify the number of civilians among the wounded.[127]

Pro-Ouattara forces

Killing of civilians in the village of Anonkoua

Around 2 a.m. on March 7, more than 60 pro-Ouattara fighters attacked the village of Anonkoua-Kouté, located very close to their military stronghold of Abobo in Abidjan. Anonkoua is a village inhabited mainly by members of the Ébrié ethnic group, who largely supported Gbagbo. Human Rights Watch believes, based on interviews with witnesses and local residents, that the attackers belonged to the Invisible Commando. at the end of April. As noted, the Commandoinvisible was fighting against Laurent Gbagbo but probably operating outside any chain of command from Alassane Ouattara and deSoro; for many, their commander was none other than IB Coulibaly, Soro's longtime rival, who was killed on April 27 after an infighting after the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo.[128]

On March 6, clashes took place in this area between the forces of Laurent Gbagbo and the Commandoinvisible. Victims of the March 7 attack, as well as an Invisible Commando fighter, told Human Rights Watch that pro-Ouattara forces believed weapons had been left in the village by pro-Gbagbo forces.[129] However, it would appear that the attackers killed random civilians and burned much of the village instead of searching for weapons. Human Rights Watch interviewed four victims from Anonkoua-Kouté and was able to confirm the death of nine civilians, including two women who were burned. One of the victims told Human Rights Watch:

Another witness claimed to have seen pro-Ouattara forces cut the throat of his 72-year-old father.[131] At least 15 houses were burned, according to several residents, and the entire village was abandoned.

In addition, pro-Ouattara forces—which, according to witnesses, victims, and neighborhood residents, are made up of IB Coulibaly's Invisible Commando and Forces Nouvelles fighters loyal to Soro, according to the precise location of the attacks—threatened and displaced perceived supporters of Laurent Gbagbo throughout Abobo and Anyama. On March 8, a member of the Bété ethnic group said pro-Ouattara soldiers broke down his door and ransacked his house in Abobo. They pointed their guns at him and said he was a "Patriot", threatening to kill him. Neighbors intervened on his behalf, which, according to the victim, saved his life, but the assailants still stole all of his belongings.[132] The victim, like thousands of others, fled to seek refuge in an area that was still under Gbagbo's control.

Summary executions of detained members of Gbagbo's forces

Human Rights Watch documented the summary executions of 11 members of armed forces and militias loyal to Gbagbo between March 1 and 10. In seven cases, according to witnesses, vehicles or individuals on foot were stopped at checkpoints of pro-Ouattara forces in Abobo to search for weapons. When pro-Ouattara fighters found a weapon and “judged” the person to be a pro-Gbagbo fighter, they killed the unarmed detainee. According to Human Rights Watch, the perpetrators of this act were fighters from Coulibaly and Soro, who operated at this time with militias made up of young people from the local population. The former Forces Nouvelles spokesperson denied that Soro's forces were present in Abobo at the time.[133]

A pro-Ouattara fighter in Abobo—who said he belonged to the Invisible Commando—told Human Rights Watch four executions in which he took part. On March 2, an ambulance was stopped and fellow fighters said they had found Kalashnikovs during the search, the driver was then arrested. On March 5, the pro-Ouattara fighter said he found three people with weapons walking through a checkpoint near Anonkoua, a sub-district of Abobo. In both cases, the pro-Ouattara fighter claimed to have taken the detainees to a senior officer, indicating organization and a clear chain of command among the fighters. After being detained, the person was subjected to "intense interrogation" and then "neutralized", according to the fighter.[134]

A witness to the execution of three other people suspected of belonging to forces loyal to Gbagbo told Human Rights Watch:

In another incident on March 7, pro-Ouattara forces detained four suspected militia leaders in Abobo and summarily executed them. Credible testimonies indicated that two people were captured and then used to ensnare larger leaders. Pro-Ouattara forces then executed them all.[137] Human Rights Watch has seen video footage of the body of "Lamté", a militia leader in this area involved in post-election killings against supporters of Alassane Ouattara. His throat had been completely slit. In the video, another victim was impaled with a stake.

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Months of tension and violence in Côte d'Ivoire degenerated into armed conflict in March 2011, when the Republican Forces launched a military offensive in the Far West. While the first towns were taken at the end of February, the intense fighting between the armed forces began in mid-March in the far west and at the end of March in Abidjan. Serious abuses continued to be committed on both sides until the final days of the fighting in early May, nearly a month after Laurent Gbagbo's arrest on April 11.

In the far west of the country, as they retreated, groups of militiamen and mercenaries loyal to Laurent Gbagbo perpetrated massacres and widespread killings in a final outburst of violence against Ivorians in the north and West African immigrants. In Abidjan, security forces allied with Laurent Gbagbo indiscriminately shelled civilian areas, firing heavy weapons at markets and neighborhoods. Pro-Gbagbo militia groups raided homes and set up close checkpoints, killing hundreds of suspected supporters of Alassane Ouattara in appalling brutality. These events marked the ultimate act of what could be described as crimes against humanity perpetrated by the forces under the control of Laurent Gbagbo, Charles BléGoudé and their close allies.

As for the Republican Forces that took over the country, they left in their wake the dead, women raped and villages in ashes. In the far west, Alassane Ouattara's forces killed old men unable to flee the fighting. Women in Duékoué had to watch Alassane Ouattara's soldiers drag their husbands, brothers and sons from their homes and execute them. After taking control of Abidjan, the Republican Forces killed at least 149 individuals and tortured or treated inhumane even more people in detention. At a minimum, these acts constitute war crimes under international law. But given the extent and sometimes organized nature of these acts, they most certainly qualify as crimes against humanity.

Pro-Gbagbo forces

Killings and massacres in the far west of the country

As the Republican Forces advanced in their military offensive, the regular armed forces hitherto loyal to Laurent Gbagbo quickly retreated. However, other pro-Gbagbo forces, mainly made up of Ivorian militiamen and Liberian mercenaries [see box below], often lagged behind. Many thus seem to have wanted to take advantage of a last opportunity to commit atrocities against the alleged supporters of Alassane Ouattara, before in turn beating a retreat. Human Rights Watch has documented massacres perpetrated by pro-Gbagbo militiamen and mercenaries in two towns in western Côte d'Ivoire and killings in four other towns.

On March 22, pro-Gbagbo militiamen and mercenaries killed at least 37 West African immigrants in Bédi-Goazon, a village 32 kilometers from the town of Guiglo, home to an estimated 400 West African immigrants. Africans, most of whom work on cocoa plantations on land owned by Ivorians.[140] HumanRights Watch spoke with six witnesses who said that many of the attackers, who spoke English, appeared to be from Liberia, while the vast majority of the victims were immigrants from Mali and Burkina Faso. Witnesses said that around 1 p.m. that day, the Republican Forces passed through Bédi-Goazon, en route to Guiglo. Around 3:30 p.m., according to witnesses, at least four vehicles carrying dozens of pro-Gbagbo militiamen, some in uniform and others in civilian clothes, attacked the part of the village where the West African immigrants lived. Witnesses said the militiamen, armed with automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and machetes, killed the immigrants in their homes or as they tried to escape. Before leaving, the attackers engaged in acts of looting by seizing anything of value—including motorcycles, money, televisions, mattresses, and clothing—and, in some cases, burning down homes.

Several witnesses indicated that the targeting of victims was clearly based on ethnic criteria. A 36-year-old witness said: "They came accusing us of being rebels and told us: 'If you are Dioulas [northern Côte d'Ivoire], flee if you can, if you are Guérés [natives of the region and above all supporters of Laurent Gbagbo], stay, we did not come for you. But if you are Malian or Mossi [an ethnic group from Burkina Faso], we will kill you.’ And then they started killing. »[141]

An 18-year-old Malian woman heard the assailants shout in English “Fire them! (“Shoot them!”) as they got out of their vehicles and began killing. She said she and several other women and children were saved by a Liberian woman who intervened.[142] Some witnesses, like this 28-year-old Malian, were able to survive by giving money to their attackers, but saw other people being killed before their eyes:

A 34-year-old man from Burkina Faso said he saw twenty-five people killed, and noted what he believes was a clear motive for the attack:

A few days later, on March 25, pro-Gbagbo militiamen and mercenaries massacred around 100 people in the town of Bloléquin after briefly recapturing the town from the Republican Forces. Hundreds of people had taken refuge in the prefecture during the intense fighting between the two armed forces. When pro-Gbagbo forces took control of the prefecture in the early morning of March 25, they separated northern Ivorians from West African immigrants and executed them, men, women and children. A man who was detained by the Republican Forces in Bloléquin prefecture when Laurent Gbagbo's forces arrived described to Human Rights Watch how, unlike many others who had been shot, he was spared:

Another man interviewed by Human Rights Watch arrived in Bloléquin a few days later and discovered more than 70 bodies in the prefecture, all shot dead. There were so many bodies around him that he couldn't count them. The man confirmed that the victims belonged to ethnic groups from northern Côte d'Ivoire and neighboring West African countries.[146]

Human Rights Watch also documented the killings of 10 northern Ivorians and other West African nationals in Guiglo early in the morning on March 29, when the town was under the control of pro-Gbagbo militiamen and Liberian mercenaries, recognizable by their mismatched uniforms , their traditional amulets, and their communication in Guéré and English. Witnesses said the perpetrators tied the victims together and then cut their throats.[147] Another person interviewed by Human Rights Watch saw the bodies the next day and, according to her, two of the bodies were those of Malian nationals and a third was that of a Guinean.[148] Pro-Gbagbo forces left Guiglo on March 30, hours before the Republican Forces arrived. HumanRights Watch also documented the killings in mid-March of eight Togolese nationals living in Keibli before Republican Forces captured the village just outside Bloléquin. A Bloléquin resident who spoke to Human Rights Watch found their mutilated bodies in and around a lake.[149]

Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that in both the Bloléquin massacre and the Bédi-Goazon massacre, the attackers were led by a Liberian mercenary whose nom de guerre was “BobMarley.”[150] According to witnesses and several other credible testimonies, including some from ex-combatants in Liberia, "Bob Marley" has worked for Gbagbo since the 2002 civil conflict, using the village of Ziglo, just outside Bloléquin, as a base for recruiting and training Liberian mercenaries since the 2010 elections.[151]

According to news reports, Liberian authorities arrested “BobMarley” in May 2011 for his involvement in the Ivorian crisis.[152] At the time of writing, he was being held in Monrovia, charged with “mercenarism” under Liberian law.[153]

Indiscriminate shelling in Abidjan

During the month of March, Laurent Gbagbo's security forces fired heavy weapons, including mortar fire, which killed civilians in pro-Ouattara neighborhoods of Abidjan, what international humanitarian law would likely characterize as indiscriminate attacks. Camp Commando—the only part of Abobo then still under the control of Laurent Gbagbo's forces. Human Rights Watch documented at least 30 deaths caused by this indiscriminate shooting, which may constitute war crimes.

On March 17, several witnesses heard by Human Rights Watch saw mortar fire from CampCommando.[154] The first four shells landed in an area called Abobo SOS for five minutes between 12 and 1 p.m., killing 6 people in all, including two children under the age of 10, and injuring 34 others.[155] A witness, who still has shrapnel in the back of his neck and was hit in several places during the attack, recounted the incident: “I heard ‘BOOM’, then I fell. I put my hands on my head and saw blood running down my arm. A Senegalese next to me received shrapnel in the stomach and he died. [...] When the shell exploded, I felt a huge gust of wind—Vooom—very hot. »

Soon after, two shells landed in the Siaka Kone market in Abobo, killing at least 15 people and injuring a dozen more. Six men were having tea chatting in a narrow market alley when a shell exploded a few yards from them; they are all dead.[156] A 50-year-old man injured by shrapnel from the same explosion described the scene:

Four other witnesses described the situation in similar terms, including one whose younger brother was injured in the stomach and later died in hospital.[158] All witnesses clearly stated that there were no personnel or military targets on site. When Human Rights Watch visited the site in July 2011, hundreds of impacts were still visible in the tin roofs, metal doors, concrete walls and anything within a 15 to 20 meter radius of the scene. Explosion. UN Human Rights Division Investigating Day of Attack; his report indicates that at least six 81 mm mortar shells were fired, killing at least 25 people and wounding 40 others.[159]

Similar attacks on residential neighborhoods killed at least nine other people between March 11 and 24; a woman and her baby were killed in one such attack.[160] The international commission of inquiry has documented other shelling carried out by Laurent Gbagbo's forces in the neighborhoods of Williamsville, Yopougon and Adjamé, reporting at least 40 dead and more than a hundred wounded if we include the Abobo attacks.[161]

Following the numerous bombings of civilian areas, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1975 on March 30 asking UNOCI “to use all necessary means to implement its mandate to protect civilians (…) including to prevent the use of heavy weapons”.[162] On April 3, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon asked President Sarkozy for the assistance of the Licorne force in this effort; concerted attacks by the UN peacekeeping force and the Licorne force began the following day in areas where Laurent Gbagbo's troops were suspected of using heavy weapons against civilians.[163] These interventions led to attacks on Laurent Gbagbo's residence on April 11, just before the Republican Forces arrested the former president.[164] A journalist from the Associated Press counted more than 500 BM-21 missiles for 122 mm multiple rocket launchers a few days later in the residence of Laurent Gbagbo; mortar, grenades and ammunition for machine guns were also found, in particular at Ake N'Gbo's house. , Prime Minister of Laurent Gbagbo.[165]

Widespread ethnic rape and killings in Abidjan

Human Rights Watch documented more than 260 killings by pro-Gbagbo militiamen, mercenaries, and armed forces in Abidjan as the Republican Forces gradually took over the city. Laurent Gbagbo's forces established checkpoints throughout the city, continuing their months-long targeting campaign against northern Ivorians and West African immigrants. Before the Republican Forces arrived in all neighborhoods, pro-Gbagbo forces unleashed a final wave of violence against supporters of Alassane Ouattara—killing men, mostly young people, and sexually assaulting women. The killings continued until the last days of the presence of Laurent Gbagbo's forces in certain neighborhoods. Scores of people were killed in the traditional militia stronghold of Yopougon in the days following Laurent Gbagbo's arrest, leaving the neighborhood littered with a dozen mass graves and, for many days, bodies strewn in the streets.

The killings documented by HumanRights Watch took place in the neighborhoods of Adjamé, Williamsville, Koumassi, Port-Bouët, and Yopougon. Credible sources, including local human rights groups and neighborhood leaders from immigrant communities, have gathered information about similar killings in other neighborhoods, such as Treichville and Plateau, suggesting that the total number of people killed by pro-Gbagbo militias during this period is likely higher. The bodies were often burned, sometimes en masse, by pro-Gbagbo militiamen or by residents who could no longer bear the smell—leaving traces other than small bone fragments.

Adjamé and Williamsville

On March 14, pro-Ouattara forces—particularly the Invisible Commando—briefly extended their control from Abobo into the neighborhoods of Adjamé and Williamsville. After pushing them back over the next few days, pro-Gbagbo forces targeted and killed dozens of suspected supporters of Alassane Ouattara in these neighborhoods. A 52-year-old woman, who remained in Williamsville for most of the wave of violence because her parents were too old to flee, told Human Rights Watch:

Killings became more frequent as the Republican Forces moved closer to Abidjan. An Ivorian driver described the March 28 murder of three Malian butchers by militiamen, recognizable by their black T-shirts and red armbands. Militiamen shot them as they went to look for a cow in the Williamsville neighborhood.[167] On March 17, a Senegalese who was wounded in the arm in the Adjamé district by gunfire from armed men in uniform, recounted how two of his friends, also Senegalese, were shot that day: "The armed men aimed their weapons at them and fired. […] They didn't ask them any questions, they shot them like that, point-blank. Another witness described the killing of a civilian arrested on March 30 at a militia checkpoint in Adjamé:

While militiamen were often the perpetrators of crimes, witnesses also identified security forces during some attacks. A 40-year-old man from Burkina Faso was one of nine West African immigrants arrested by armed and uniformed men, whom he believes to be police, at a roadblock in Adjamé on March 29. The group was taken to a police station where the officers shot them:

The violence in Adjamé has caused a mass exodus from Abidjan of West African immigrants and northern Ivorians, who have taken refuge in their respective embassies or with families residing outside Abidjan or in other neighborhoods.

Koumassi/Port-Bouët

Human Rights Watch has also documented numerous killings in the neighborhoods of Koumassi and Port-Bouët as Republican Forces and pro-Gbagbo forces battled for control of 'Abidjan between March 31 and April 11, the date of Laurent Gbagbo's arrest. Being located in the very south of Abidjan—at the other end of where the Republican Forces had entered the city—these neighborhoods were two of the last three to fall. Indeed, the fighting there was not particularly intense because the Republican Forces did not need to control it to arrest Laurent Gbagbo; the majority of pro-Gbagbo militiamen had fled the neighborhood when Laurent Gbagbo was arrested.

However, as fighting continued in other parts of the city, real or perceived supporters of Alassane Ouattara in these neighborhoods were systematically targeted by soldiers from the Young Patriots, FESCI and CECOS. Militiamen killed at least 18 residents of Port-Bouët, mostly West African immigrants, during attacks on April 2 and 4.[171] Still others were killed as they tried to flee the offensive to take refuge in other neighborhoods. During the attack by the pro-Gbagbole militia on April 2, hundreds of people left in the direction of the Licorne force base located not far from there. Learning that the Unicorn base could not shelter them, the inhabitants continued their journey towards Koumassi. A witness recounted what happened next:

Another witness heard by HumanRights Watch witnessed the April 7 execution of four brothers at a militia checkpoint near the same Camp Commando, located near a main entrance to Koumassi.[173] In the late afternoon that day, a resident who lived less than 100 meters from this checkpoint told Human Rights Watch that he had quietly approached the site and filmed 24 bodies lying in the street.[174 ] Many witnesses said that after a few days there were completely blackened areas along the road where the militia had burned bodies.

Yopougon

As the longtime base of Gbagbo's militia and the final battle zone in the fight for Abidjan, the Yopougon neighborhood was the site of particularly violent killings against suspected pro-Ouattara groups . Numerous homicides were committed in the days following Gbagbo's arrest as the militiamen openly sought revenge.

In the Mami-Faitai neighborhood, a largely Muslim section of Yopougon, Human Rights Watch saw what appeared to be eight mass graves. According to people who participated in the burials, each pit contained between 2 and 18 bodies.[175] At least 46 people were killed in this area between 11 and 13 April. Residents of Mami-Faitai had set up a checkpoint at the entrance to their neighborhood where, according to several residents, unarmed youths signaled if attackers were coming by banging on pots. Residents described how seven attackers in BAE (riot control unit) uniforms raided the checkpoint shortly after midnight on April 11 and killed 18 people. A survivor who pretended to be dead after being shot told Human Rights Watch:

A 65-year-old man who lived in the same neighborhood lost five sons when militiamen stormed into his residence around 9 a.m. on April 12. Here is what he said:

In the Doukouré sub-district of Yopougon, the bodies of 29 people lie in a single mass grave from the April 12 killings, according to several residents who helped bury the bodies on April 13.[178] At least seven other mass graves containing 1 to 12 bodies lie nearby in the same dusty parking lot of the neighborhood mosque, according to people who helped bury them.[179]As they went from house to house killing, the militiamen also raped women, including a 23-year-old:

Human Rights Watch documented 21 rapes committed by pro-Gbagbo forces in Doukouré and Mami-Faitai in the week following Laurent Gbagbo's arrest. At least nine, like the one recounted above, were perpetrated during the April 12 attacks. The rapes continued in the following days as women attempted to return to their homes to obtain essential items for their families who were in hiding.

Killings in areas controlled by militias continued until the final days of the Battle of Yopougon. On April 25, pro-Gbagbo militias took advantage of a brief movement by the Republican Forces out of Yopougon Andokoi to set up a roadblock. Two Malian brothers entered the neighborhood around noon, thinking there was no danger, and were arrested at the militia checkpoint. The older brother, interviewed by Human Rights Watch, escaped but turned to find his 26-year-old brother had been arrested. Once the Republican Forces regained control of the area that night, the older brother returned to find his brother's half-charred body stacked next to five other victims, who had also been burned to the point of almost unrecognizability.[181] ] On April 27, the sub-district of Locodjoro, one of the last areas to fall into the hands of the Republican Forces, was completely burned by fleeing militiamen. They destroyed hundreds of homes and, according to witnesses, arrested, tied up and executed two Malians. One was on his way to the area to rescue his mother who had been unable to flee the earlier violence.[182]

Residents of Yopougon from both political parties said they had seen some well-known militia leaders in and around the sub-districts of Yopougon where a large number of killings were committed. Witnesses repeatedly described seeing militia leader Bah Dora in the ToitRouge area. Witnesses also described the involvement of militia members under Bah's command in multiple killings of civilians believed to belong to pro-Ouattara groups.[183] Several neighborhood residents told Human Rights Watch that Bah was captured by the Republican Forces and was being held in the 19th arrondissement.[184] Two witnesses also said they saw MahoGlofiei, a longtime leader of a militia in the far western region of Côte d'Ivoire, in Yopougon just before Gbagbo's arrest.[185]

Military offensive by the Republican Forces

On March 17, Alassane Ouattara signed a decree creating the Republican Forces of Côte d'Ivoire, which constitute the country's "official" armed forces. The Republican Forces were made up of Forces nouvelles fighters as well as members of the national army and security forces who had joined Alassane Ouattara's side.[186] The decree was issued nearly three weeks after the Forces Nouvelles, under the command of Alassane Ouattara's Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, launched an offensive in Zouan-Hounien, a town on the Liberian border. On March 29, after a month of intense fighting mainly with pro-Gbagbo militiamen and mercenaries, the new Republican Forces took control of the West. In the two days that followed, cities fell in southern, central and eastern Côte d'Ivoire, one after another, breaches opening up on all three fronts. On March 31, the Republican Forces converged on Abidjan and began fighting that would end with the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo on April 11. Fighting continued until the first week of May, however, with pro-Gbagbo militiamen continuing to fight in their stronghold in the Yopougon district.

Before their military offensive in the far west of the country, armed elements loyal to Alassane Ouattara had little involvement in serious abuses. However, once the armed conflict began, soldiers systematically targeted civilians suspected of being Laurent Gbagbo supporters whenever they encountered fierce resistance, mainly in the west and in Abidjan. While men and young people were particularly targeted for their alleged affiliation with the militias, elderly people, women and children were also killed. In total, hundreds of victims were executed after being targeted on ethnic grounds, and dozens of women were raped. At times, senior Republican Forces officers have been implicated in these abuses, either directly or as part of their command responsibility.

Killings, rapes and looting in the far west of the country

Armed clashes between pro-Ouattara and pro-Gbagbo forces began on February 25 around the town of Zouan-Hounien, in western country. After quickly capturing Zouan-Hounien and Bin-Houyé along the Liberian border, the Republican Forces faced greater resistance in Toulepleu, Doké, Bloléquin, and Duékoué.[187] On March 10, Soro proclaimed Commander Fofana Losséni head of the "pacification of the west of the country" for the Republican Forces, with a mandate to "protect the populations on behalf of the Ouattara government."[188] Witnesses and Ivorian journalists also identified Captain Eddie Médi as the leader of the military offensive from Zouan-Hounien to Guiglo.[189]

As fighting raged throughout March, the Republican Forces systematically targeted civilians suspected of being pro-Gbagbo. The visits made by Soro to the Republican Forces in Toulepleu on March 9 and 10 do not seem to have reduced the number of their abuses.

Human Rights Watch has documented killings of civilians by pro-Ouattara forces in at least a dozen villages around Toulepleu and Bloléquin, including point-blank executions, mutilation, and self-immolation. Although the majority of Guéré residents of the region fled in anticipation of the attack by the Republican Forces, those who remained were subjected to collective punishment for their group's alleged support of Gbagbo. The international commission of inquiry also discovered that “on their arrival in the cities, the FRCI and their allies also committed numerous abuses against the populations deemed [sic] favorable to former President Gbagbo […]”.[190]

A 57-year-old Guéré from Zoguiné, a village between Toulepleu and the nearby official Ivorian-Liberian border crossing, told Human Rights Watch that Republican Forces killed a farmer who was walking home, burned his mother alive and destroyed his village:

In a few towns and villages, the Republican Forces arrived earlier than expected, before most residents could flee, and opened fire as the panicking population sought refuge in the surrounding bush. Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of such killings in Toulepleu, Diboké, Doké, and Bloléquin.

Witnesses said the Republican Forces often went house to house after taking over a village, killing many of those who remained. A 23-year-old resident of Diboké told Human Rights Watch that Republican Forces fighters entered her home and killed her mother, father, and younger brother. She had escaped through a window, eventually finding refuge in Liberia.[193] A 25-year-old woman from Bloléquin hid under her bed when pro-Ouattara forces entered her home and killed her 20-year-old sister.[194] In at least four cases documented by Human Rights Watch, victims had parts of their arms severed and then disemboweled with long knives—two while still alive, two others after being shot. [195]

After committing these acts in several towns and villages, some soldiers of the Republican Forces are deployed on foot on the tracks in areas where the inhabitants work in their cocoa plantations—killing others who believe they have found refuge in a safe place. A 47-year-old woman described to HumanRights Watch what happened in one of these circumstances:

Witnesses explained that after summarily killing Guéré civilians found in a village, the Republican Forces often looted before setting fire to houses. Human Rights Watch has documented the partial burning of at least 10 Guéré villages around Toulepleuet de Bloléquin. Several witnesses told Human Rights Watch that while hiding in the bush, they saw pro-Ouattara forces go so far as to set fire to buildings used to store rice and rice seeds.[197]

Summary executions of detained civilians, mainly elderly people

When the Republican Forces swept through a village, elderly or sick people, as well as their relatives who refused to abandon loved ones unable to flee, were often stayed in their homes. In at least several cases, the Republican Forces locked these people up in one or more houses in the village and killed them within days. Human Rights Watch documented the killings of about 30 Guérés who were unable to flee with their families; in the vast majority of cases, the Republican Forces shot the elderly victims at close range. Dozens of other refugees interviewed by Human Rights Watch said they left behind over-aged relatives in other villages around Toulepleu and Bloléquin, suggesting that the death toll could be even higher.

A 21-year-old Guéré woman from a village near Toulepleu said that in early March she, her family and five other residents were kept in detention. She was raped, her husband was killed for trying to defend her, and others were executed:

A 67-year-old woman from Doké, where fighting between Ouattara and Gbagbo forces took place on March 13, provided Human Rights Watch with a similar description of the execution of 20 Guéré civilians, mostly men and women. older women:

An 84-year-old man detained in another house in Doké with six other Guérés explained that on the fifth day of their captivity, soldiers in Republican Forces uniforms locked the house in which they were detained, which had only one room, then opening fire through the walls. Five of the seven captives died immediately, all over the age of 50, and the witness had three gunshot wounds to the left leg.[200] Pro-Ouattara forces left the village—which was recaptured briefly the same day without firing a shot by pro-Gbagbo forces—allowing the man to escape with the other survivor. They found a car which took them to Guiglo, where the Red Cross treated them. Threatened by another imminent attack by the Republican Forces in Guiglo, the 84-year-old traveled more than 100 kilometers on foot for two weeks to reach Liberia and find refuge in a Liberian village.[201]

Rape and other sexual violence

Human Rights Watch has documented 23 cases of rape and other sexual violence committed by the Republican Forces during their advance in the far west of the country. All the victims were cured. In several cases, the attackers alluded to the ethnic origin of the victim before or during the rape. Reliable reports from humanitarian organizations working along the Ivorian-Liberian border seem to indicate that there are dozens of other similar cases.

In a few cases, combatants captured women and girls during the initial attack on a village, forced them into the surrounding bush and raped them. A 31-year-old woman from Bohobli, a village near Toulepleu, decided not to flee when Alassane Ouattara's forces advanced because her grandmother could not leave and she herself had a foot disability. She told HumanRights Watch that three armed men entered her home. One fighter killed the grandmother with a machete, while the other two dragged the woman into the bush, where they raped her.[202]

In the majority of documented cases, combatants locked women in houses for one or more days, committing repeated gang rapes before leaving for the nearby town or village. Around March 7 or 8, the Republican Forces passed through Basobli, about ten kilometers from Toulepleu towards the Liberian border. Although most residents fled as soon as they learned of the fall of Toulepleu, a 25-year-old woman who spoke to HumanRights Watch remained in the village to watch over her younger brothers and sisters:

After pro-Ouattara forces took Bloléquin on March 20, they also locked up the men and women they had captured during the fighting and were unable to flee. In a villa not far from the prefecture where several commanders of the Republican Forces were based, combatants repeatedly raped eight young Guéré women, including several girls, as described by a man detained with them:

The above-mentioned crimes—murders upon the arrival of Republican Forces in villages, executions of old people unable to flee, sexual violence, and the burning of villages—appear to have been committed primarily by forces under the direct command of Captain Eddie Médi (see l insert below for more information about him).[205] A former Forces Nouvelles commander in Danané, EddieMédi led his forces from Zouan-Hounien to Toulepleu, then from Bloléquin to Guiglo during the March offensive.[206] Eddie Médi's forces committed numerous murders and rapes as they passed, which have been documented. In a March 17, 2011 interview, Dion Robert, Maj. Gen. de Médi said that "Captain Eddie is always in front of the troops,"[207] suggesting that he must have seen at least some of the crimes of war having been perpetrated. The Associated Press reported that abuses by Médi's troops continued over the following months, including the horrific massacre of 47 Guérés near the Liberian border the day after Alassane Ouattara's inauguration. EddieMédi acknowledged sending his troops to the area on the day in question, adding, however, that it was to counter the activities of pro-Gbagbo mercenaries.[208]

Duékoué massacre involving Republican Forces

After the Republican Forces took control of Duékoué early in the morning of March 29, they and their allied militias massacred hundreds of Guéré residents in the town's Carrefour neighborhood. Human Rights Watch interviewed eight women who witnessed the events, as well as several people who had helped count or bury the bodies in the days following the massacre. Five witnesses clearly identified Republican Forces among the attackers, saying they arrived in trucks, 4x4s and on foot, in military uniform. Others described seeing two pro-Ouattara militias operating in close collaboration with the Republican Forces, committing abuses against the civilian population: a traditional hunting and civil defense group whose members are known as Dozos, usually armed with guns and identified by their traditional clothing; and a group of Burkinabé militiamen who live in the region and are led by Amadé Ouérémi. The international commission of inquiry,[222] Amnesty International[223] and the International Federation for Human Rights[224] agree to designate the soldiers of the Republican Forces as directly involved in the Duékoué massacre, alongside groups of militiamen like the Dozos.[225]

The Carrefour neighborhood has long been a concentration point for pro-Gbagbo militiamen, and in the days leading up to the Republican Forces takeover, militiamen and mercenaries carried out killings of supporters of Alassane Ouattara. However, according to witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch, pro-Ouattara forces executed men there who were not believed to be militia members, including boys and old people. attack, they targeted the population of the neighborhood with a view to inflicting collective punishment on the Guérés. A 39-year-old woman described the murder of her husband and dozens of other murders, in an account reminiscent of many others:

A 29-year-old woman from Carrefour also said her husband was killed and her 15-year-old brother was forcibly recruited:

A religious leader from Duékoué who visited the Carrefour neighborhood on March 31 told Human Rights Watch that hundreds of bodies were still lying there, including 13 in a church called the Church of Heavenly Christianity. Among them was the pastor's bullet-riddled body, still in religious garb.[228]

Final battle for Abidjan and the weeks that followed

The pattern of abuses first observed during the Republican Forces' military offensive in the west continued when they took control of Abidjan in April and searched for arms and militiamen. Active fighting against militiamen and pro-Gbagbo mercenaries indeed continued well after Laurent Gbagbo's arrest on April 11, with the last Yopougon enclaves being liberated—and the last militia groups fleeing—around May 8. in the West, by taking control of the areas, the Republican Forces were able to observe that many of the people from their ethnic groups had been murdered by Laurent Gbagbo's fleeing militiamen. Sometimes in systematic and organized operations, sometimes out of simple revenge, the Republican Forces have undertaken collective reprisals against young men belonging to ethnic groups associated with Laurent Gbagbo—committing extrajudicial executions in neighborhoods and detention sites, and subjecting large numbers of people inhuman treatment sometimes tantamount to torture.

In the months following Human Rights Watch investigations, UNOCI's human rights division continued to document killings and other abuses by the Republican Forces, including eight killings and other cases of torture and inhuman treatment between June 17 and 23[229], as well as 26 extrajudicial executions and 85 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention between July 11 and August 10.[230]

Killings and other abuses committed during patrols and search operations

Human Rights Watch documented 95 killings by Republican Forces soldiers against unarmed residents during search operations following the end of active struggle against pro-Gbagbo forces. Two murders were committed on May 23 and 24, after the inauguration of Alassane Ouattara on May 21. The vast majority of documented murders were committed in Yopougon, a commune inhabited by a large number of Laurent Gbagbo supporters and former bases of militia groups. The commune of Yopougon appears to have been disproportionately targeted for retaliatory killings as the Republican Forces inflicted lethal collective punishment on young men from the Bété, Attie, Guéré, and Goro ethnic groups. Many residents told Human Rights Watch that the militias and mercenaries, who for months had targeted and killed pro-Ouattara groups, had mostly fled before the Republican Forces takeover, so those who remained were civilians, presumed to be supporters of Laurent Gbagbo. Yopougon, which has around one million inhabitants, is divided into dozens of neighborhoods. Although the Republican Forces committed violence throughout Yopougon—and to a lesser extent in Koumassi and Port-Bouët—more than 70 of the killings documented by Human Rights Watch occurred in the sub-districts of Koweit and Yaosseh.

Kuwait

Kuwait was one of the last areas of Abidjan to fall, with fighting ending around May 3. In the days and weeks that followed, the Republican Forces carried out house-to-house searches. Men from pro-Gbagbo groups appear to have been targeted for abuse. Human Rights Watch also documented a case of rape. A 34-year-old woman from Yopougon Kuwait described how she was brutally raped by a Republican Forces soldier on May 8, and then saw the Republican Forces kill 18 youths:

Human Rights Watch documented six other killings in Kuwait by Republican Forces on the same day. A witness described five men being stripped, lined up and machine-gunned by a soldier. Four victims died instantly; the fifth, shot in the thigh, pretended to be dead and later crawled to a nearby house. The witness, a friend who lived nearby, approached him, and the man asked for water. As the witness went to fetch water, he heard several gunshots. He found his friend dead—with a bullet hole in the arm that had left bone fragments on the ground and another in the chest that had come out through the victim's back.[232]

The killings in Kuwait began immediately after the Republican Forces took control of the neighborhood. On May 3, a witness saw soldiers execute a 63-year-old man at point-blank range after accusing him of renting a room to a pro-Gbagbo militiaman.[233] A man described his brother's murder:

Another witness said he saw the Republican Forces slit the throat of a young man in front of his father after discovering a Kalashnikov and a grenade in his room during a house-to-house search at 4am. The witness was stripped naked and forced to hand over his laptop, cell phones and money.[235] Human Rights Watch has documented similar lootings of dozens of homes in Kuwait. The witness, like many others interviewed by Human Rights Watch, wanted to flee Abidjan to go to his family village, but had no money for transport since the Republican Forces had taken everything.

A member of the Republican Forces in Yopougon told Human Rights Watch that men under the control of Ousmane Coulibaly—a former commander of the Forces Nouvelles in the Odienné area—were responsible for the offensive and the "cleansing" operation. in the Kuwait neighborhood of Yopougon.[236] Several Ivorian journalists and sources close to the Forces nouvelles have also identified Coulibaly as the commander in charge of operations in this area (for more information on Coulibaly, see the insert “Recurrent abuses” above).[237]

Yaosseh

A Republican Forces commander told Human Rights Watch that after heavy fighting from April 12 to 19, his forces took control of Yaosseh around April 20 .[238]After seizing this area, many soldiers moved into the local police station—the 16th arrondissement—which had once housed pro-Gbagbo militiamen. A few days later, the Republican Forces began search operations in Yaosseh, where many militiamen from the region had previously lived. Eleven witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch described how, between April 25 and 26, soldiers killed at least 30 unarmed men, mostly young people from pro-Gbagbo ethnic groups. Most witnesses said the majority of the victims were not active members of the militia, which had fled around April 19.

A 16-year-old boy saw his 25-year-old cousin shot and killed by soldiers as they both sat outside a health center at 2 p.m. on April 25. The witness was spared due to a serious medical condition that soldiers said showed he had never been a militiaman.[239] A 42-year-old woman saw the Republican Forces kill her younger brother and several others on the same evening:

Another witness described how soldiers entered and opened fire at a neighborhood restaurant, killing eight men inside.[241] A 34-year-old woman witnessed three other executions on April 26, including that of her sister's husband, following a clash between Republican Forces and Liberian mercenaries:

Residents who witnessed the looting who had returned to find their homes emptied of most of their valuables said that, as in Kuwait, homes in Yaosseh had been systematically looted.

Witnesses described a few cases in which senior officers intervened to prevent extrajudicial executions, including a case in the Gesco neighborhood of Yopougon in late April. As a soldier appeared to be about to execute a youth who was being held for belonging to an ethnic group believed to have supported Gbagbo—"because all the Guérés, Bétés and Goros must be eliminated"—a higher-ranking soldier intervened and told to leave the youths if they had no proof that they were militiamen.[243] More often, however, soldiers who opposed the execution of civilians were unable to convince their comrades who intended to inflict collective punishment. A 38-year-old woman described what happened on April 26:

Extrajudicial executions of detainees

Human Rights Watch also documented the extrajudicial executions of 54 detainees by the Republican Forces in three different places of detention in Yopougon—the 16th and 37th arrondissements and the oil and gas company building GESCO—as well as in the Koumassi and Port-Bouët districts. Some of these prisoners had been identified by local residents as pro-Gbagbo militiamen who had committed crimes against members of pro-Ouattara communities, but the soldiers in most cases appeared to have had no information implicating those executed in any crime. .

A member of the Republican Forces under the command of Chérif Ousmane described the execution in early May of 29 detainees outside the GESCO building:

Two former detainees in the 16th arrondissement also described the execution of at least four young men during the first night of their detention, around May 5.[246] A 25-year-old man, who was arrested after fleeing fighting in Kuwait, said:

On May 15, a Human Rights Watch researcher saw a body burning less than 30 meters from the 16th arrondissement, still controlled by the FRCI, and numerous witnesses at the scene told him it was a pro-Gbagbo militiaman who had been captured and killed. The following day, two people who had participated in the capture and had witnessed the execution described the events.[248] The account describes a relationship between the FRCI and local pro-Ouattara youths that Human Rights Watch observed and which was repeatedly described by witnesses. A witness said:

A Human Rights Watch researcher presented Commissioner Lezou (a member of the Republican Forces then in charge of the compound) with evidence relating to summary executions in and around the 16th arrondissement. Commissioner Lezou categorically denied that such executions had taken place, saying that all the bodies found in the streets came from the fierce struggle in the area between April 14 and 18. He also categorically denied that a body had been burned in the street in front of the police station on May 15, although the Human Rights Watch researcher claimed to have seen it with his own eyes.[250]

Human Rights Watch also documented five extrajudicial executions of detainees in the 37th arrondissement compound in Yopougon between May 12 and 19. The victims were taken out of the station overnight over two days and executed on nearby grounds, several inmates and neighborhood residents said.[251]

Among those executed were several neighborhood leaders of pro-Gbagbo militias, including well-known Young Patriots leaders "Andy" and "Constant" in Kuwait between May 5 and 6. A witness to Constant's death said how relatives of local people killed by Constant and his militia described to the Republican Forces the crimes in which he was involved, after which four soldiers killed him.[252] A witness said that before the soldiers executed Constant, he showed them a cache of weapons in his house.[253] Two witnesses said they saw Chérif Ousmane in a convoy of six 4x4 vehicles disposing of Andyle's body on May 6.[254] A witness who helped move the body said he had been mutilated, with numerous stab wounds and gunshot wounds, meaning he had likely been tortured.[255]

Although the killings were not on the same scale as in Yopougon, Human Rights Watch also documented extrajudicial executions in Koumassi and Port-Bouët between April 13 and 15, just after the Republican Forces took control of these areas . Several of those executed were militiamen suspected of involvement in dozens of murders and, according to neighborhood residents, in possession of large arms caches. As in Yopougon, young people from the neighborhood played a role in identifying, denouncing and trapping suspected militiamen, before bringing them to the Republican Forces, in the words of one of these young people, "to do their job".[ 256]

Torture and inhuman treatment in detention

Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of cases of torture and inhuman treatment of detainees by the Republican Forces. During and after the military offensive in Abidjan, hundreds of young people from pro-Gbagbo ethnic groups were arrested and detained—often in abandoned arrondissements and military bases as well as in makeshift prisons such as gas stations and the GESCO complex. Almost all former detainees interviewed by Human Rights Watch said they were regularly beaten, most often with guns, belts, sticks, fists and boots, while Republican Forces soldiers ordered them to reveal the location of weapons or militia leaders.

Most had been arrested and detained simply because of their age, ethnicity or neighborhood of origin. A university student from Port-Bouët recounted how he was arrested, detained, and beaten on April 21 because he lived in one of the neighborhood's halls of residence—sites that had long been pro-Gbagbo FESCI strongholds:

In several cases, the treatment inflicted by the Republican Forces clearly reached the level of torture, defined under the Convention against Torture as "any act by which severe pain or suffering, physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person" by a state actor for purposes including obtaining information or sanctioning a person for an act committed or alleged to be committed.[258] A 20-year-old young man detained for a week in the 37th arrondissement in Abobo-Doumé gave an account of the treatment he received. 'he went through:

Another detainee testified to how the Republican Forces pulled out several of his teeth during interrogation after seizing him on a small road in Yopougon Wassakara in mid-April:

The prohibition of war crimes and crimes against humanity is among the most fundamental proscriptions of international criminal law. According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), crimes against humanity can be committed in times of peace or armed conflict and consist of specific acts committed on a widespread or systematic basis as part of an "attack against a civilian population meaning that there is some degree of planning or policy on the part of the authorities. Such acts include murder, rape, and persecution of a group on political, ethnic, or national grounds.[261] War crimes in an armed conflict that is not international in nature include killing persons taking no active part in hostilities, including members of the armed forces who have been detained, and intentionally carrying out attacks against civilians who do not not participate directly in hostilities.[262]When crimes against humanity and war crimes are committed, those with command authority who should have known of the crime and did not prevent it or initiate investigations nor can prosecution of their alleged perpetrators be held criminally responsible.[263]

Based on its field research, Human Rights Watch has identified the following individuals as being responsible—either through direct participation or command responsibility—for certain serious crimes committed in the post-war period. election:

Camp Gbagbo

Laurent Gbagbo – The former president was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, which committed war crimes and, probably, crimes against humanity. He appointed his longtime ally Charles BléGoudé as Minister of Youth, establishing a direct link with the Young Patriots movement, responsible for many murders perpetrated on the basis of ethnic criteria. Although it is clear that his armed forces and militias have committed serious crimes, Laurent Gbagbo has neither denounced nor taken measures to prevent such crimes or to open investigations. When the Republican Forces took his presidential palace, they discovered an impressive arsenal of heavy weapons—many of the same types used in indiscriminate attacks that resulted in numerous civilian casualties. Laurent Gbagbo was arrested on April 11 by the Republican Forces; he was indicted on August 18 by prosecutor Simplice Koffi for economic crimes, including embezzlement, aggravated theft, and embezzlement.[264] He is currently in preventive detention in the north of the country.

Charles Blé Goudé – He was for a long time secretary general of the Young Patriots, a militia implicated in hundreds of murders in Abidjan alone. Its militiamen often worked closely with elite security forces, targeting supporters of Alassane Ouattara. Rather than dissuade his supporters from resorting to violence, Charles Blé Goudé made speeches that could constitute incitement to violence. On February 25, for example, in a widely publicized speech, he called on his supporters to set up roadblocks in their neighborhoods and to “denounce” foreigners—an explosive term used by the Gbagbo camp to refer to northern Ivorians and West African immigrants. . Immediately after this appeal, Human Rights Watch documented a sharp increase in violence committed by the Young Patriots, most often along ethnic or religious lines. According to Human Rights Watch, Charles Blé Goudé is likely involved in crimes against humanity. According to some sources, he is hiding in Ghana, but his presence has previously been reported in Benin and Gambia.[265] On July 1, prosecutor Simplice Koffi announced that authorities were seeking an international arrest warrant for Charles Blé Goudé for his post-election crimes.[266]

General Philippe Mangou – As Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces under the regime of former President Laurent Gbagbo, Philippe Mangou led troops who allegedly committed war crimes and, possibly, crimes against the 'humanity. The international and Ivorian press widely echoed these crimes. However, Philippe Mangoun took no concrete measures to prevent them, nor opened investigations against those who systematically targeted supporters of Alassane Ouattara. On March 21, Philippe Mangou was at the headquarters of the general staff alongside Charles Blé Goudé who had come to address thousands of Young Patriots—who had already taken part in numerous murders and rapes—who had come to hear his call to defend the country. According to numerous media sources, Philippe Mangou would have promised—while the young people chanted: “We want Kalashnikovs”—that the army would take “everyone without taking into account either the diploma or the age”, adding that “[ what counts here is the will and the determination of each one. […] We will summon you at the appropriate time for combat.”[267] The Young Patriots continued to commit atrocities over the following weeks. General Philippe Mangou, maintained for a time as Chief of Staff by Alassane Ouattara, was quickly replaced by General Soumaïla Bakayoko on July 7.

General Guiai Bi Poin – Guiai Bi Poin was the head of CECOS (Security Operations Command Center), responsible for enforced disappearances, sexual violence, indiscriminate heavy weapon fire killing civilians and brutal repression demonstrations. Taken as a whole, given both their scale and their systematic nature, the crimes committed under his command probably constitute crimes against humanity. Guiai Bi Poin never denounced these crimes, and even less opened investigations against soldiers suspected of having committed them—despite the important role that CECOS played in the attacks against supporters of Alassane Ouattara, a role repeatedly denounced by organizations defense of human rights as well as by the international and Ivorian press. The members of this elite unit were easily identifiable thanks to their vehicles marked "CECOS". Laurent Gbagbo's date, Guiai Bi Poin's forces were one of the last to surrender. A military prosecutor heard General Bi Poin on May 13, releasing him on the condition that he promise to respond to a later summons.[268]General Bi Poin was not, however, among the 57 soldiers charged in early August, taking the same went on June 22 to a gathering of officers tasked with designating the new Ivorian army.[269]However, after the alleged discovery of a mass grave in the gendarmerie school of which he was the commander, General Bi Poin was arrested on August 20. Five days later, a prosecutor charged him with “economic crimes” and remanded him in Abidjan.[270]

General Bruno Dogbo Blé – Bruno Dogbo Blé was the commander of the Republican Guard, involved in cases of enforced disappearances, the brutal repression of demonstrations and the persecution of West African immigrants. Taken together, the crimes committed under his command probably constitute crimes against humanity. The Treichville district in Abidjan, where the Republican Guard camp is located, suffered particularly. Like General Guiai Bi Poin, although human rights groups and the press reported on the crimes committed by his forces, Bruno Dogbo Blé never denounced them, let alone opened investigations against the soldiers who committed them. were responsible. Bruno Dogbo Blé was arrested by the Republican Forces on April 15. At the time of writing, he was being held in a military camp in Korhogo. A military prosecutor indicted him on August 11 for his role in certain blood crimes committed during the post-election violence.[271]

“Bob Marley” – This Liberian mercenary leader who fought for Laurent Gbagbo in the west of the country is implicated in two massacres and other murders that killed at least 120 people, including men, women and children. According to victims and witnesses, he took part in and helped orchestrate attacks in which West African immigrants and northern Ivorians were targeted on the basis of ethnicity. He was arrested in Liberia in May 2011. At the time of this writing, he was being held in Monrovia pending indictment on "mercenary charges."[272]

General Pierre Brou Amessan, director of RTI – As director of the Laurent Gbagbo-controlled RTI television channel, he regularly oversaw broadcasts that incited violence against supporters of Alassane Ouattara and foreigners, calling on real Ivorians to "denounce" them and "clean up" the country. Large-scale violence against supporters of Laurent Gbagbo often ensued. The channel also encouraged attacks on United Nations personnel and vehicles, attacks which were repeated throughout the crisis. According to the Rome Statute, war crimes include “[t]he intentional directing of attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles employed in the course of a […] peace […]as long as they are entitled to the protection that the international law of armed conflict guarantees to civilians and civilian objects”.[273]

Denis Maho Glofiéhi – Known as “Maho”, he was for a long time the leader of the pro-Gbagbo militias present in the west of the country. In July 2010, he told HumanRights Watch that he commanded 25,000 combatants under the banner of the Front de libération du Grand Ouest (FLGO).[274]The militias allegedly under Maho's command participated in massacres in western country and in Abidjan—where he was seen during the last months of the crisis, often in the company of Charles Blé Goudé. Maho is said to have fled Yopougon before the arrival of the Republican Forces. His current whereabouts are not publicly known.

Camp Ouattara

Captain Eddie Médi (or EddyMédy, variant spelling used by some Ivorian media) – Eddie Médi was the commander of the Republican Forces in charge of leading the March offensive from Toulepleu to Guiglo. Along this axis, many Guéré men, women and children were killed, at least 20 women were raped, and more than 10 villages burned to the ground. Reliable reports indicate that forces under his command carried out further massacres after taking control of the area, with Eddie Médi leading “mop-up” operations from his base in Bloléquin.[275] Eddie Médi does not appear to have taken any serious action to prevent the crimes or punish those responsible within his ranks. At the time of writing this report, EddieMédi was still a commander in Bloléquin.

Commander Fofana Losséni – On March 10, Guillaume Soro gave him the title of leader of the "pacification of the far west", identifying him as the superior of Captain Eddie Médi and the commander-in-chief of the offensive of the Republican forces in the west of the country. Also known as "Loss", he was the Forces Nouvelles sector commander in Man. Soldiers under his command took control of Duékoué on the morning of March 29 and played an important role in the massacre of hundreds of people in the Carrefour district. No serious action appears to have been taken by Loss to prevent these crimes or to punish those responsible within its ranks. At the time of writing this report, he was still the commander of the Republican Forces. According to the Ivorian press, he was appointed vice-commander of an Ivorian elite force called to undergo training in France.[276]

Commander Chérif Ousmane – During the final assault on Abidjan, he was the head of operations for the Republican Forces in Yopougon, where many suspected supporters of Laurent Gbagbo were summarily executed. According to a soldier from his "Guépard company", Chérif Ousmane himself ordered the execution of 29 prisoners in early May. A long-time commander of the Forces Nouvelles in Bouaké, a 2004 report by IRIN—the humanitarian news and analysis service—says that he oversaw forces involved in the summary execution of Liberian and Sierra Leonean mercenaries.[277]The 3rd August 2011, President Ouattara promoted Chérif Ousmane to the rank of second-in-command of the Security Group of the Presidency of the Republic.[278]

Commander Ousmane Coulibaly – A long-time Forces Nouvelles sector commander in Odienné, Ousmane Coulibaly led Republican Forces soldiers implicated in acts of torture and summary executions in the Kuwait sector of Yopougon. These events took place over several weeks, and no action seems to have been taken by Ousmane Coulibaly to prevent the crimes or punish those responsible. At the time, Ousmane Coulibaly had the nom de guerre “Bin Laden”. He will change it on June 20, 2011 to become "Ben le sage". At the time of writing this report, he was still a commanding officer of the Republican Forces.

Unofficially aligned forces

Amadé Ouérémi (commonly referred to as “Amadé”) – Leader of a heavily armed Burkinabe group in the Mont Péko region in the far west of Côte d'Ivoire, Amadé Ouérémi and his men were identified by many witnesses as being among the main perpetrators of the massacre that occurred in Duékoué on March 29 in the Carrefour district. Witnesses and residents of this neighborhood told Human Rights Watch and Fraternité-Matin, the state-controlled daily, that Amadé Ouérémi had fought alongside the Republican Forces in Duékoué,[279] although there is no clear chain of command between the two forces. On August 10, the UN peacekeeping mission collected the arms and ammunition of “nearly 90 members” of Amadé Ouérémi’s group.[280] Neighborhood residents, however, told HumanRights Watch and Fraternité-Matin that Amadé Ouérémi's men only got rid of a small part of their arsenal.[281]

Several initiatives are underway with the aim of contributing to accountability for serious crimes that have been committed during the post-election period. At the international level, a commission of inquiry has involved the armed forces of both sides. in war crimes and, possibly, crimes against humanity. It has compiled a confidential annex of the main perpetrators of these crimes for the ICC prosecutor, who has received authorization from the court's pre-trial chamber to open an investigation into the serious crimes committed in the context of the post-election violence.

At the national level, prosecutors have charged around 100 soldiers and civilians from the Gbagbo camp for their alleged roles in the crisis. Military officials have been charged with crimes, including murder and rape, which could be invoked as war crimes or crimes against humanity. Most civilian officials have been charged with economic crimes and crimes against the state. While significant efforts had been made to prosecute Laurent Gbagbo and his allies, no member of the Republican Forces had been arrested or charged at the time of writing this report.

Commissions of Inquiry

On March 25, 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution establishing an independent international commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations committed after the second round of the elections, and to identify the main perpetrators so that they can be brought to justice.[282]In an extremely short time, the commission made its report public around June 10 and presented it during the 17th session of the June 15 Human Rights Council. In its summary, the commission concluded:

Among its key recommendations, the commission calls on the government to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; address the root causes of conflict, including discrimination; and to restore security by rapidly undertaking disarmament.[284] In its first recommendation to the Ouattara government, the commission specifically emphasizes the need for justice:

To this end, the commission has prepared an appendix containing the names of persons against whom there are reasonable grounds to presume individual criminal responsibility. The commission's report indicates that the “confidential list […] may be transmitted to the competent authorities in the context of a judicial investigation.”[286]Human Rights Watch learned through someone on the commission that the annex had been communicated to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and to the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navanethem Pillay. However, the annex was not transmitted to Alassane Ouattara, nor to the Minister of Justice, nor to the Abidjan prosecutor. This is difficult to reconcile with the promise of the commission to transmit it to the "competent authorities" for the purposes of their investigations, insofar as prosecutions relating to post-election violence have been initiated by the national authorities.

The failure to make the annex public or to communicate it to the government and the judicial authorities recalls the precedent of a former international commission of inquiry: in 2004, a similar commission was charged with investigating serious crimes committed during the 2002-2003 civil war. Its detailed report, which contained evidence of crimes against humanity committed by both sides, was submitted to the United Nations Security Council in November 2004. It has still not been made public.[287]This report has not yet been made public. was accompanied by a confidential appendix containing, according to the information available, the list of the 95 personalities whose responsibility was the greatest and who deserved a criminal investigation. A journalist claimed at the time that Simone Gbagbo, Charles Blé Goudé, and Guillaume Soro were among those named.[288] The 2011 commission specifically recommended that the Human Rights Council publish the 2004 report to combat impunity.[289]On June 30, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. to these requests, while remaining ambiguous as to whether it was up to the Human Rights Council or the Secretary-General of the United Nations to authorize the publication of the report.[290] HumanRights Watch has requested publication of this report and its appendix since 2004.[291]

Immediately after the 2011 international commission of inquiry released its report, the Ouattara government announced the creation of a national commission of inquiry.[292] Insofar as the Ouattara government had expressly requested the establishment of an international commission, which had covered the same events and issued conclusions and recommendations denouncing the serious crimes committed by the forces of Alassane Ouattara calling for the opening of an investigation, the moment chosen could reflect the government's desire to exonerate those responsible. On July 20, Alassane Ouattara signed the decree creating the commission, giving the body six months to present its findings and “help understand how and why” such gross human rights violations had taken place.[293]Journalist of the Associated Press reported that “the language used in the decree suggested that the commission would refute the charges [made by international human rights organizations] and seek to exonerate Alassane Ouattara's forces.”[294]It was difficult. to say whether the Ouattara government intended to wait for the conclusions of the national commission of inquiry before opening investigations and prosecuting the Republican Forces, but Alassane Ouattara informed the Associated Press at the end of July that the report of the commission would be given to the prosecutors before the end of 2011.[295] However, it very quickly became apparent that this deadline would probably not be respected, as the commission did not start work until September 13. On August 10, a decree from the Minister of Human Rights appointed 17 commissioners with Judge Matto Loma Cissé as president.[296]Several members of Ivorian civil society expressed to Human Rights Watch their concerns about the independence and impartiality of the commission, indicating that Matto Loma Cissé was very close to Alassane Ouattara.[297]

National lawsuits against the Gbagbo camp

After capturing Laurent Gbagbo in his residence on April 11, the Republican Forces took him to the Golf Hotel.[298]Two days later, he was transferred to Korhogo, a city located in the north of Côte d'Ivoire, and placed under house arrest. His wife, Simone, was also arrested on April 11 and later transferred to Odienné, another town in the north of the country.[299]In the days following these arrests, Alassane Ouattara's forces arrested dozens of soldiers and public figures. civilians linked to Laurent Gbagbo.

For two months, no charges were brought against those detained, prompting organizations, including Human Rights Watch, to call on the Ouattara government to end a violation of both Ivorian and international law.[300] Justice Minister Jeannot Ahoussou Kouadio argued in response on June 22 that no charges were necessary since the persons concerned were under house arrest and not in detention. He also invoked a 1963 law that authorizes the head of state to issue decrees to place “persons who have such a profile” under house arrest, relating to the promotion of the economic and social well-being of the country.[301]Although it is difficult to say whether the Minister's explanations are correct under Ivorian law, the persons considered are clearly detained within the meaning of international law—they are deprived of their right to liberty, whether they find themselves in a prison proper, in a former hotel, or whether they are under house arrest.

Several days later, the authorities issued charges. On June 26, Abidjan prosecutor Simplice Koffi announced the indictment of 15 politicians under Laurent Gbagbo's regime for crimes against state authority, creation of armed gangs, and economic crimes.[302] Three days later, a military prosecutor, Colonel Ange Kessy, announced the indictment of 49 officers of Laurent Gbagbo's Ivorian army, 42 of whom were already in detention.[303]The military court reportedly charged them with "misappropriation of funds and materials public […] illicit transfers of arms and ammunition; illegal arrests and kidnappings; [and] murders and concealment of corpses.”[304] Then, on July 1, prosecutor Koffi indicated that he was requesting the issuance of international arrest warrants against several supporters of Laurent Gbagbo who were believed to be abroad, including Charles Blé Goude. The crimes alleged are primarily crimes against the state and economic crimes.[305]

Further indictments were filed by civilian and military prosecutors in August and September. As of August 12, 58 military officials and at least 37 civilian figures—including Laurent Gbagbo's own son, Michel Gbagbo—had been charged.[306] As before, the military prosecutor charged the crimes of arbitrary arrest and detention, concealment of bodies, and rape, with the civilian prosecutor charging almost exclusively crimes against the state and economic crimes.[307] A government spokesman said on August 10 that "blood crimes" committed during the post-election period would be tried by the ICC, saying domestic civil courts were "not yet equipped to try this kind of crime". .[308] Finally, on August 18, prosecutor Koffi announced the indictment of Laurent Gbagbo and his wife Simone for “economic crimes,” including embezzlement, theft, and misappropriation.[309]

At the time of writing, at least 118 people linked to the Gbagbo camp have been charged with crimes committed during the post-election period.

No nationwide prosecution of Republican Forces soldiers

As of this writing, no member of the Republican Forces has been charged with serious crimes committed during the post-election violence. judicial action has been taken regarding the massacres in the west of the country—crimes documented by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the International Commission of Inquiry, the UNOCI Human Rights Division, and the International Federation of Leagues human rights. On April 2, the Minister of Justice attacked UNOCI's human rights division for implicating the Republican Forces and the Dozos in the Duékoué massacre, however instructing the Daload prosecutor to open a criminal investigation. on crimes committed in the west of the country.[310]Human Rights Watch learned from several people who were able to speak with the prosecutor that the latter's investigation had been seriously delayed due to a lack of personnel. and means—virtually nothing was done until late July.[311]The Justice Minister's chief of staff told Human Rights Watch in September that a team of police and prosecutors had conducted a preliminary investigation for three months and compiled an important file based on evidence provided by witnesses to crimes committed by both sides. He added that he had enough evidence about crimes committed by pro-Gbagbo militias, but that investigations into the Republican Forces were encountering "difficulties"—specifically referring to the fact that international organizations present in Duékoué during the massacre and having attended the burials were reluctant to testify. He also stressed that the investigations were only at the preliminary stage and that verifications had to be carried out before charges were brought. He also said the government was waiting for the ICC to act before initiating national-level prosecutions—although the ICC has in the past only taken up a few cases in investigated situations.[312]

The investigations into the crimes committed during the Abidjan offensive and the weeks that followed are clearly not progressing. When Human Rights Watch first published reports of 149 killings - implicating Chérif Ousmane and Ousmane Coulibaly among those responsible - Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko promised that serious investigations would be carried out, while expressing "doubts" about the observations that had been made and the reliability of the testimonies of the victims collected.[313]No real investigation seems to have been opened.

Military prosecutor Ange KessiKouamé said in early July that he had received numerous complaints about the Republican Forces, but that he was unable to open investigations since the civilian or military status of the combatants was uncertain under the law Ivorian. Ange Kessi Kouamé awaits clarification on this point since, if the combatants are considered to be civilians, only a civilian prosecutor is competent to prosecute them.[314] At the time of writing, the government did not appear to have answered the question of whether members of the Republican Forces were civilians or military or included people from both categories during the post-election crisis.

The fact that no serious investigation has been opened against members of the Republican Forces could illustrate victors' justice, as feared by a member of the international commission of inquiry and an influential human rights activist in Côte d'Ivoire.[ 315]The Ouattara government continued to promise that those implicated in crimes would be prosecuted, whether they were on its side or that of Laurent Gbagbo.[316]

International Criminal Court

Côte d'Ivoire is not a state party to the Rome Statute. The country has however accepted under the presidencies of Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara the jurisdiction of the ICC to investigate the crimes referred to in the said Statute, namely the crimes of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of the international humanitarian law. Since taking power, Alassane Ouattara has expressly invited the ICC prosecutor to investigate crimes committed in Côte d'Ivoire. He also expressed his agreement and his desire to see the ICC try the crimes committed by both sides. However, Alassane Ouattara also asked the court to restrict the period the court can investigate.

Côte d'Ivoire first accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC in a declaration dated April 18, 2003. In accordance with article 12, paragraph 3, of the Rome Statute, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the then Gbagbo government , Mamadou Bamba, declared that "the Ivorian government recognizes the jurisdiction of the Court for the purpose of identifying, prosecuting, judging the perpetrators and accomplices of the acts committed on Ivorian territory since the events of September 19, 2002."[317]The declaration specified. be “made for an indefinite period”,[318] establishing a priori the continued jurisdiction of the ICC to investigate serious crimes committed during and after the 2002-2003 armed conflict. On December 14, 2010, then on May 3, 2011, President Ouattara renewed by letter Côte d'Ivoire's declaration under Article 12, paragraph 3. However, in the two letters addressed to the ICC, the dates mentioned are not not the same. In his letter dated December, Alassane Ouattara undertakes to cooperate with the ICC "with regard to all crimes and abuses committed since March 2004."[319]Five months later, in his confirmation letter, Alassane Ouattara invites the Court to investigate only “the most serious crimes committed since November 28, 2010.”[320][See annex for the three letters to the ICC.]

The prosecutor took this latter letter into account when he asked the Second Pre-Trial Chamber on June 23 for authorization to open an investigation—limiting the proposed period of said investigation to the post-election period.[321]The prosecutor's request expresses the desire to focus on the crimes committed after the 2010 election because “the violence […] has reached unprecedented levels” and “a lot of information is available on these crimes”.[322]

This inappropriate time limitation would make impossible the proposed international investigation into serious crimes committed in the decade preceding the last outbreak of violence and ignores the calls made by many figures in Ivorian civil society who believe that it is essential to investigate certain facts dating back to 2002, given their seriousness, scale and total impunity.[323] People working with Alassane Ouattara on justice issues indicated that this limitation had been included in his letter to the International Criminal Court in part at the suggestion of the prosecutor's office, so that the investigation did not grow into insurmountable proportions.[324] However, several diplomats interviewed by Human Rights Watch believed that Alassane Ouattara's request was intended to protect some people on his side implicated in systematic killings, rapes, and other abuses during the 2002-2003 conflict and thereafter. [325]

President Ouattara has consistently asserted that the ICC should and will examine serious crimes committed by both sides.[326]An investigative delegation led by Deputy Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has begun ICC investigations into post-election violence during a visit to Abidjan between June 27 and July 4. On June 28, Fatou Bensouda and Justice Minister Kouadio signed a formal agreement in which the Ivorian government pledged to cooperate fully in accordance with Chapter IX of the Rome Statute.[327]

On October 3, 2011, the ICC judges granted the prosecutor's request to open an investigation into the post-election violence. They also asked him to "provide any additional information at his disposal on crimes that could potentially fall within the jurisdiction of the Court and which were allegedly committed between 2002 and 2010."[328] Alassane Ouattara pledged to ratify the Rome Statute “as soon as possible.”[329]

Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission

On April 27, 2011, Alassane Ouattara undertook to create within two weeks a Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the model of that of South Africa , specifying that it was a “strong axis of [his] presidency.”[330] A few days later, on May 1, Alassane Ouattara indicated that the president of this Commission would be former Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny— politician and longtime member of the PDCI.[331]Some foreign diplomats as well as members of Ivorian civil society, including pro-Ouattara organizations, expressed their disappointment with the appointment. They thus pointed out that the decision had been taken with little or no consultation with civil society and that, given the partisan past of Charles Konan Banny, they were not sure that the two camps could trust the Commission.[332]

On July 13, President Ouattara officially created the Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CDVR) by ordinance 2011-176, giving the body a two-year mandate.[333] The Commission is headed by its chairman, Charles Konan Banny, as well as three vice-chairmen and seven members.[334] It is responsible, among other things, "for developing an appropriate typology of human rights violations", "for seeking the truth and placing responsibility for past and recent national socio-political events", "for hearing the victims, obtaining the recognition of the made by the perpetrators of the incriminated violations and the resulting forgiveness" and "to identify and make proposals aimed at combating injustice, inequalities of all kinds, tribalism, nepotism, exclusion as well as hatred in all their forms" .[335] Sessions of the Commission are open to the public, except in special circumstances.[336] The International Crisis Group expressed concern that the text of Order 2011-176 “does not include any provision clearly defining the powers of the commission and does not sufficiently guarantee its independence from political power.”[337]

On September 5, the Council of Ministers adopted a decree appointing the vice-presidents and members of the Commission. The vice-presidents represent traditional, Muslim and Christian authorities; the seven members represent the different regions of Côte d'Ivoire, as well as the Ivorian diaspora and foreign nationals residing in Côte d'Ivoire.[338] At the time of writing this report, the Commission had no strategy or responsibilities clear about the government's justice efforts.

Most of the causes of the most recent Ivorian conflict are well known: the decade-long state-orchestrated discrimination against northern Ivorians and West African immigrants based on the manipulated notion of citizenship; the incitement to hatred against these groups; the proliferation of violent militias and their close collaboration with the elite security forces of Laurent Gbagbo; deficiencies in the justice system; and, more directly, Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to step down after losing the second round of elections. Pro-Gbagbo forces began hostilities the day after the election, and expanded and intensified their attacks as the crisis developed. Ultimately, their actions include war crimes and, likely, crimes against humanity, whose responsibility goes back to the highest echelons of the army and civil society.

However, while Laurent Gbagbo's obsession with staying in power may have been behind the latest armed conflict, when the fighting stopped in mid-May, Alassane Ouattara's Republican Forces had committed atrocities that also fall under the most serious crimes sanctioned by international criminal law. Talking to government officials or reading their statements—even those of diplomats representing countries supporting the Ouattara government—one gets the feeling that these people, while admitting that the Republican Forces have committed regrettable acts, consider these acts less reprehensible in the extent to which, if Laurent Gbagbo had not refused to leave power, this violence would never have taken place. While logical in terms of political responsibilities, the argument cannot succeed from the angle of human rights and international humanitarian law. Civilian members of pro-Gbagbo groups who saw Alassane Ouattara's forces kill and rape loved ones or burn down their villages are no more legitimate targets than northern Ivorians and West African immigrants killed by Laurent Gbagbo's forces. . From the perspective of the victims—most of whom cared little whether Laurent Gbagbo remained in power or not, even if they had voted for him, but rather yearned to regain the stability and prosperity of yesteryear—the collective punishment inflicted by both sides is comparable and the price to pay just as high.

Senior officers on both sides are implicated in war crimes and, possibly, crimes against humanity. In some cases, the abuses they have taken part in or overseen have reached the pinnacle of evil. In some respects, the nature of the violence is not really surprising: the forces of Laurent Gbagbo and the Republican Forces (when they were the Forces nouvelles) have always targeted their opponents and committed assassinations, rapes and looting. Whatever the number of victims, the leaders of either side have never had to answer for their actions. This adjournment of justice has often been supported by part of the international community which considered that the quest for justice was incompatible with the ongoing peace negotiations. Some continue to believe this, ignoring the lessons of the past, when this adjournment was synonymous with keeping in power those responsible for serious crimes. Faced with rising tensions, these people resumed inflicting violence on civilians, having learned that it cost them almost nothing.

While much of the population is beginning to return to a normal life, particularly in Abidjan, insecurity remains for many people who pass for supporters of Laurent Gbagbo—especially young people who, because of their age and ethnic origin, are suspected of being militiamen. More than 150,000 refugees are still in Liberia or Ghana, afraid to return home. Reconciliation still seems a long way off.

Since taking control of the country, the first steps taken by Alassane Ouattara to fight against impunity have been, at best, uneven. Despite repeated government promises to hold accountable all those who committed serious crimes during the conflict, the reality is one of winners' justice—no member of the Republican Forces had been charged at the time of this writing. Minister of Justice, spokespersons for the presidency, and Alassane Ouattara himself, categorically denied that the violations denounced by several human rights organizations could be founded—although, in some cases, the investigations were carried out by organizations independent bodies such as the International Commission of Inquiry, the Human Rights Division of UNOCI, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights and Amnesty International. to denigrate these organisations, either directly or through newspapers that their political party openly supports, in a manner reminiscent of that under which Laurent Gbagbo ruled the country.

The country is at a crucial moment in its history, which can either break with its past and return to the rule of law, or suffer the addition of new resentments to those that have fueled violence and insecurity for ten years. Ivory Coast friends on trial impunity. She tested political and ethnic patronage. The most recent toll is at least 3,000 people killed and more than 150 women raped. By September 29, six months had passed since the Duékoué massacre—probably the most heinous, but one of many in terms of serious crimes committed by the Republican Forces. The women who saw their husbands and sons dragged from their homes and executed at close range did not get justice; their neighborhood and their village remain destroyed, and the inhabitants who escaped death live for the most part elsewhere and most often in refugee camps. It is high time that Alassane Ouattara lives up to his speeches on impartial justice. It is also high time that real pressure be exerted by the French and American governments, as well as by the United Nations Security Council and ECOWAS, to guarantee impartial justice. All legitimately supported Alassane Ouattara when Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power. But no voice is raised today as selective justice takes hold. Without the necessary will, at the national and international levels, to guarantee credible and impartial justice, Côte d'Ivoire risks being unable to put an end to the cycles of violence, which would bode ill for the respect of the State of law and stability of the country.

This report was written by Matt Wells, West Africa Researcher, and Corinne Dufka, Senior West Africa Researcher. The report is based on research conducted by Matt Wells, Corinne Dufka, Tirana Hassan, Researcher for the Emergencies Division, Gerry Simpson, Senior Researcher for the Refugees Program, and Leslie Haskell, Researcher for the Africa Division. The report was edited and edited by RonaPeligal, Deputy Director of the Africa Division, Elise Keppler, Advisor for the International Justice Program, Agnes Odhiambo, Researcher on Women's Rights in Africa, Philippe Bolopion, Director in charge of Advocacy with United Nations, Clive Baldwin, Senior Legal Adviser, and Babatunde Olugboji, Deputy Director in the Program Office. Marianna Enamoneta, West Africa Division Assistant, Jamie Pleydell-Bouverie and Tess Borden provided research assistance. This report has been translated into French by horizons, a translation consultancy based in London. Editing of the translation was carried out by Marianna Enamoneta and Peter Huvos, responsible for the French section of the Human Rights Watch website. John Emerson made the maps. The release of the report was prepared by Grace Choi, Publications Manager, Anna Lopriore, Creative Manager, and Fitzroy Hepkins, Mail Manager.

Human Rights Watch wishes to thank Ivorian organizations and individuals for their invaluable assistance during the crisis by helping to connect its researchers with victims in Abidjan and in different regions of the country, often by exposing themselves to significant personal risk. For security reasons, we cannot name them in this report but would like to emphasize that this research work was largely possible thanks to their courage and determination.

Human Rights Watch particularly wishes to express its gratitude to the victims and eyewitnesses of the often appalling violence who have agreed to share their stories. They sometimes had to face military checkpoints and, often, fighting between armed forces to testify about the murder of a child, a friend, a brother or a spouse. Despite the oppressive situation, they spoke to our researchers in the hope that the horrors of this crisis would forever remind Ivorians and their leaders of the cost of manipulating ethnicity and inciting hatred. They have repeatedly insisted on the need to hold those responsible to account and to end a decade of impunity. We hope that this report will contribute to the realization of these hopes.