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ICC begins Ivory Coast war crimes probe
Gbagbo’s troops also attacked UNOCI, the United Nations peace-keeping force in the Ivory Coast. Between 700 and 1,048 people were killed by pro-Gbagbo forces, according to figures given by the prosecutor’s office.
Troops loyal to Ouattara are accused of attacking civilians in Abidjan and and western Ivory Coast, particularly in the town of Duekoue, the judges said.
“The material indicates that pro-Ouattara forces targeted civilians who were perceived to support Laurent Gbagbo and the attacks were directed against specific ethnic communities,” the judges had said.
“We’ll be totally impartial,” Moreno-Ocampo said Saturday, after meeting leading members of Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) party.
“We’ll focus the investigation on the most odious crimes and the most responsible, to prevent violence and ensure Cote d’Ivoire to move ahead,” he said, using the French name of the former French colony in west Africa.
Gbagbo refused to give up power after losing the elections to Ouattara.
Pro-Ouattara forces seized Gbagbo in April and has been under house arrest in the north of the country since.
Copyright 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.
