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ICC begins Ivory Coast war crimes probe
The International Criminal Court‘s (ICC) chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said up to six people will be probed for involvement in post-election atrocities in Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire).
Moreno-Ocampo, who arrived Friday pledging an “impartial” investigation, said three to six people would be investigated.
“But we don’t know who they are,” he added after meeting with President Alassane Ouattra, Justice Minister Jeannot Ahoussou Kouadio, former prime minister Charles Konan Banny, who now heads a national reconciliation panel — and Abidjan’s civil and military prosecutors.
Judges at the ICC, based at The Hague, appointed Moreno-Ocampo to mount an inquiry into the violence that killed more than 3,000 people during a five-month standoff after last November’s elections in the world’s top cocoa grower.
They ruled on October 3 that there was evidence that both sides in the conflict committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, supporters of now President Ouattara and fighters loyal to his political rival, longtime leader Laurent Gbagbo.
They said pro-Gbagbo forces hired some 4,500 mercenaries, including fighters from neighbouring Liberia, and armed them.
