The United Nations demanded a halt on Thursday to the “atrocities” triggered by Côte d’Ivoire’s political crisis that have left 173 dead, and accused Laurent Gbagbo’s troops of harassing its peacekeepers.
And in another blow to Gbagbo’s regime, the Central Bank of West African States said only his rival Alassane Ouattara’s globally recognised government could manage the country’s accounts there.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, repeated on Thursday a call for Gbagbo to step down.
UN officials in Abidjan said Gbagbo’s security forces, shielded by civilian protesters and backed by unidentified masked gunmen, had prevented human rights monitors from probing reports of at least two new mass graves.
They said gangs of gunmen had carried out murderous overnight raids on civilians living in the poorest districts of Abidjan.
“The situation is sufficiently disturbing for everyone to take it seriously and do something about it,” said Simon Munzu, UN human rights director in Abidjan.
“We’ve been stopped virtually every time we’ve tried to go into the field.”
‘Atrocities and violations of human rights’
In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council voted to condemn “the atrocities and violations of human rights committed in Côte d’Ivoire”, citing killing, kidnaps, sexual violence, repression of protests and destruction of property.
In a statement to the council, Clinton said: “We reiterate our call for former president Laurent Gbagbo to step down immediately.
“The United States joins the international community in condemning the growing violence, the grave human rights violations, and the deterioration of security in Côte d’Ivoire,” she added.
The Unoci peacekeeping force also complained that Gbagbo’s camp continued to besiege the waterfront Abidjan hotel where Ouattara’s rival government is holed up, protected by 800 UN troops.
Gbagbo and Ouattara have been in a stand-off since a November 28 presidential election, which both claim to have won. Ouattara has been recognised by the UN Security Council, but Gbagbo is determined to cling to power.
“Serious human rights abuses and intimidation continue to be reported in several districts of Abidjan. The toll of dead, wounded and missing is rising rapidly,” Unoci spokesperson Hamadoun Toure told reporters.
Human Rights Watch said it had recorded the same crimes.
Defiant
But Gbagbo’s regime remained defiant, calling on supporters to resist international pressure.
“It’s a battle,” Gbagbo’s powerful wife, Simone, told lawmakers. “War is being waged on us in several forms. If we do not want to be crushed, we should raise our heads, resist and have confidence in ourselves.”
Briefing ambassadors in Geneva, the UN deputy human rights chief said the UN had been able to confirm allegations of 173 killings and 90 cases of torture or ill treatment in Côte d’Ivoire in the past week.
Munzu said the true toll might be much higher because Gbagbo’s troops had blocked attempts by his staff to investigate reports of two major mass graves — one allegedly holding 60 to 80 bodies, the other 30.
“We get to a roadblock, manned by heavily armed elements of the Defence and Security Forces, with whom are associated hooded people who we don’t know,” he told reporters at Unoci headquarters in Abidjan.
The Defence and Security Forces (FDS) are police and army regulars loyal to Gbagbo. They have been deployed to prevent protests by Alassane supporters.
“And to this is added civilians, including children, who would tomorrow be classified as ‘collateral damage’ if we tried to force our way” past roadblocks, Munzu said.
Asked if the United Nations had confirmed reports that Liberian mercenaries were in Abidjan, spokesperson Toure said: “Our patrols have met a group of people speaking English and claiming to be Liberian.”
Formal recognition
Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly on Thursday recognised Ouattara as Côte d’Ivoire’s legitimate president, after the UN said he beat Gbagbo in last month’s presidential election.
The 192-nation General Assembly formally recognised Ouattara by unanimously deciding that the list of diplomats he submitted to the world body be recognised as the sole official representatives of Côte d’Ivoire at the UN. The country’s new UN ambassador is Youssouf Bamba.
The move by the UN will serve to strengthen Ouattara’s claim to be the legitimate leader of Côte d’Ivoire and deepen the isolation of Gbagbo, who has few supporters across the international community, UN diplomats said. — AFP Reuters