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Over 100 Dead Bodies Found in Strife-Torn Cote d'Ivoire

More than 100 bodies over the past 24 hours were found in three different towns in strife-torn Cote d'Ivoire, with some of them appearing to be ethnic killings.

Staff from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) saw 15 new bodies in Duekoue yesterday, in addition to the 229 already found and buried, bringing the total number to 244 known for sure to have been killed during an incident that took place between 28 and 29 March.

According Mr. Rupert Colville, OHCHR's spokesperson in Geneva, the victims are believed to have been mostly or all of Guerre ethnicity. The Guerre have traditionally been supporters of Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power despite the UN-certified victory of Alassane Ouattara in November's presidential run-off poll.

"The killings took place when fighters who support President Ouattara took control of Duekoue," he stated. "Some of the victims seem to have been burnt alive, and some corpses were thrown down a well."-Rupert Colville

This incident followed an earlier one in mid-March when another 100 people of the Dioula ethnicity, including some women, were reportedly killed by pro-Gbagbo forces who were in control of Duekoue at that time.

The human rights team also found around 40 corpses in the small town of Blolequin, to the west of Duekoue.

In the nearby town of Guiglo, investigators saw more than 60 corpses, including a number of West Africans.

The agency noted that the ongoing fighting in Abidjan is driving more civilians into exile in Ghana. Some 2,000 Ivorians have crossed into Ghana in the last week, bringing the total there to 7,200. Further east of Cote d'Ivoire, some 200 Ivorians have been arriving daily in Togo in recent days, bringing the total there to 2,300.

Source: United Nations