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UN workers in Cote d'Ivoire have found the bodies of more than 100 victims of brutal killings, a discovery that threatened to undermine President Alassane Ouattara as he seeks to take control of the country. Ouattara's rival, Laurent Gbagbo, meanwhile was left isolated behind a military cordon in the bunker where he sought refuge after a concerted assault by troops loyal to Ouattara earlier this week. The UN Human Rights Office said Friday that it found 115 corpses in the west in the past 24 hours, adding to the 800 dead reported by aid groups last week. In a speech late Thursday, Ouattara said he would seek to restore security and basic services and would also pursue investigations into reported serious abuses by both his and Gbagbo's troops since fighting began. Ouattara won the November presidential poll by 8 percentage points, according to UN certified results, but Gbagbo rejected the outcome, citing fraud, and he accused the UN of meddling in Cote d'Ivoire affairs. The poll was meant to draw a line under Cote d'Ivoire's 2002-2003 civil war, but the dispute over results rekindled it, turning Abidjan, which was once known as the Paris of West Africa, 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 to be evacuated at a French military base Friday. "Even if there's peace, even if they give me a billion dollars, I will never come back to this country. I hate it," he said. A commander for the French military force in Cote d'Ivoire, Licorne (Unicorn), said Friday its troops would carry out mixed patrols with police and gendarmes loyal to Ouattara to restore security and rebuild infrastructure. "Today, the main efforts of the Licorne force will be the following: help return things to normal and assist in the restoration of state authority," said Frederick Daguillon, spokesman for the force. AFP |
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