In a sign of how difficult restoring security will be, the United Nations human rights office said today that it found 100 more corpses in western Ivory Coast in the past 24 hours, adding to the 800 dead reported by aid groups last week.
Ouattara said his forces had blockaded Gbagbo in the presidential residence in Abidjan — an ironic twist after Ouattara suffered months in a hotel under siege by Gbagbo’s troops following last November’s disputed presidential election.
In a speech late yesterday, Ouattara said he would seek to restore security and basic public services in the country following fierce fighting between his forces and Gbagbo’s defenders, and would also try to revive the country’s cocoa industry, the world’s largest.
Prisoners held by forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, seen here in Abidjan,.A UN MI-24 helicopter flies in Abidjan April 7, 2011. UN peacekeepers have surrounded the “last defenders” of Laurent Gbagbo. Prisoners held by forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, seen here in Abidjan
Ouattara won the November presidential poll by eight percentage points, according to UN certified results, but Gbagbo rejected the outcome citing fraud, and accused the United Nations of meddling in Ivorian affairs.
The poll was meant to draw a line under Ivory Coast’s 2002-03 civil war, but the dispute over results rekindled it, turning Abidjan — once known as the “Paris of West Africa” — once again into a war zone.
“I was born here, but I am leaving and I am never coming back,” said Imad Zarour, 40, who was waiting today to be evacuated at a French military base. “Even if there’s peace, even if they give me a billion dollars, I will never come back to this country. I hate it.”
A commander for the French military force in Ivory Coast, Licorne (Unicorn), said today that its troops would carry out mixed patrols with police and gendarmes loyal to Ouattara to restore security and rebuild infrastructure.
Ouattara said he hoped to revive the cocoa sector, the country’s main economic engine, which has been paralysed by European Union shipping restrictions since January.
“I have asked that European Union sanctions on the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro and certain public entities, be lifted,” Ouattara said in the speech broadcast on French television.
“I have also asked the central bank BCEAO to reopen its branches in Ivory Coast, to ensure a resumption of operations in all banks so as to enable the payment of salaries and arrears in the shortest possible time,” he said on television channel LCI.
In Brussels, the European Commission said it hoped to be able to begin easing sanctions soon. A European diplomatic source said an agreement was possible as early as Tuesday.
Diplomatic and military efforts to oust Gbagbo this week were met with fierce resistance and Ouattara said his rival’s residence had been sealed off to protect the area.
“As for the outgoing President Mr Laurent Gbagbo, who has entrenched himself at the presidential residence in Cocody with heavy weapons and mercenaries, a blockade has been established around the perimeter to secure the inhabitants of the district,” Ouattara said.
Crimes to be investigated
A week of fighting for control of Abidjan has driven terrified residents to scramble to find food and water, with frequent power cuts and hospitals overwhelmed with wounded.
Ouattara said steps would be taken to shed light on all crimes committed during the conflict and would collaborate with international organisations to investigate human rights abuses and punish those found guilty.
“We have established a national commission of inquiry whose findings will be made public and the perpetrators of crimes will be severely punished,” Ouattara said.
A Gbagbo ally bristled at the comments.
“Ouattara has no right to call for reconciliation,” the head of Gbagbo’s political party, Pascal Affi N’Guessan, said today in an interview with Radio France International. “He is precisely the one who is responsible for all the suffering of the Ivorian people.”
Ouattara’s camp has denied its soldiers were involved in the Duekoue killings, but human rights groups have said there is evidence his forces have killed and pillaged during their offensive.
At a Ouattara military base camp north of Abidjan, Zacaria Kone, a senior commander, warned about 100 of his soldiers today against killing and looting.
“Don’t go killing someone. If there is a problem see one of your chiefs here. They (the pro-Gbagbo militias) have massacred our families, but they will answer for that,” he said.
Asked by Reuters after the speech whether he was referring to specific abuses by his troops, Kone said simply: “I will think about that question.”
France, the former colonial power, has taken a leading role in talks to persuade Gbagbo to hand over to Ouattara and end the standoff, and its Defence Minister said he believed Gbagbo had about 1,000 men, 200 of whom were defending his residence.
Helicopters from French forces and the United Nations peacekeeping mission bombarded Gbagbo’s heavy weapons stockpiles earlier this week, including those near the residence.
Gbagbo has ruled Ivory Coast since 2000 and blames Paris for supporting the north of the country in the civil war of 2002-03.
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