Ouattara forces kill, rape civilians

Forces loyal to President-elect Alassane Ouattara killed hundreds of civilians, raped more than 20 alleged supporters of his rival Laurent Gbagbo, and burned at least 10 villages in Côte d'Ivoire’s far western region, AP reported Sunday, quoting the Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Gbagbo followers killed more than 100 presumed Ouattara supporters as his forces advanced in their March campaign, according to the report.

“Upon taking power, Ouattara should urgently open a credible and impartial investigation into serious abuses by both sides and ensure that those responsible at all levels are brought to justice,” said the HRW.

People interviewed by HRW described how, in village after village, pro-Ouattara forces, now called the Republican Forces of Côte d'Ivoire, summarily executed and raped perceived Gbago supporters in their homes, as they worked in the fields, as they fled, or as they tried to hide in the bushes. The fighters often targeted people by ethnicity and they attacked disproportionately those too old or feeble to flee.

The abuses documented occurred from March 6 to 30, as the western towns of Toulepleu, Doké, Bloléquin, Duékoué and Guiglo, all formerly controlled by pro-Gbagbo forces, fell to the pro-Ouattara forces seeking to force Gbagbo from the presidency.

In village after village, Republican Forces combatants killed, raped, and pillaged the predominantly Guéré population. The Guéré are originally from western Côte d'Ivoire and largely supported Gbagbo in last year's election.

A 47-year-old woman told the group that she looked on as two fighters killed her father, husband and 10-year-old son around the family's cocoa farm near Doké. A 32-year-old man described pro-Ouattara forces entering Diboké and opening fire on civilians as they ran out to see which side's forces had entered, killing at least three people right in front of him.

The human rights committee also found evidence of ongoing atrocities by pro-Gbagbo forces including the March 28 massacre in Bloléquin of more than 100 men, women, and children from northern Côte d'Ivoire and neighboring West African countries; the March 29 killing of another 10 northerners and West African immigrants in the town of Guiglo; and the mid-March killing of eight Togolese in a village just outside Bloléquin.

Since the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire began following the second round of presidential elections on Nov. 28, 2010, Human Rights Watch has documented serious human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law by both sides. Through the end of February, the abuses reported were predominantly committed by security forces under the control of Gbagbo and militia groups loyal to him in a systematic campaign of violence that indicated crimes against humanity.

Alleged Ouattara supporters, including members of political parties allied to him, as well as West African immigrants and Muslims, were the targets of human rights abuses including killing, enforced disappearances, and sexual violence. In response to the intensifying abuses and descent into civil war, the United Nations Security Council on March 30 imposed strong sanctions on Gbagbo and several of his close political allies.