Ivory Coast army ordered to bases

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Ouattara vows Ivory Coast justice

13 April 2011 Last updated at 16:35 GMT Alassane Ouattara: "Mr Gbagbo is a former head of state and should be treated with consideration"

Ivory Coast's new President Alassane Ouattara has said all sides in the country's conflict must face justice.

He said he would ask the International Criminal Court to probe massacres in which both his forces and those of his rival Laurent Gbagbo were suspected.

Mr Gbagbo was captured on Monday by Mr Ouattara's forces after he refused to accept he lost elections in November.

He will now face charges at a "national level and an international level", Mr Ouattara said.

At a news conference in the main city of Abidjan, Mr Ouattara said Mr Gbagbo had been moved to a secure location.

During the four-month stand-off between the two rivals for the presidency about 1,500 people were killed and a million forced from their homes.

The UN says fighting and looting continue in the country and aid agencies say the situation for civilians is dire, with shortages of food, water and basic services.

The international community, including the UN, recognised Mr Ouattara as the election winner, but Mr Gbagbo said the vote was rigged.

The conflict threatened to plunge the world's biggest cocoa producer back into civil war, with Mr Ouattara's supporters controlling the north and Mr Gbagbo's in control of the south.

Truth and reconciliation

Mr Ouattara said the justice minister was preparing a case against Mr Gbagbo, but he would be treated with respect.

Some Gbagbo supporters were attacked after he was captured on Monday

"There will be charges on a national level and an international level," he said.

"Gbagbo is in a residence under surveillance somewhere in Ivory Coast," Mr Ouattara told reporters at the Golf Hotel, where he has made his headquarters during the crisis.

"Mr Laurent Gbagbo is a former head of state, he must be treated with consideration."

The UN said its peacekeepers in Ivory Coast had transported Mr Gbagbo to the north and were providing security for him.

The ex-president had first been taken to the Golf Hotel after Mr Ouattara's forces, with French support, had removed him from the presidential palace.

Mr Ouattara said he had phoned South Africa's President Jacob Zuma for advice about setting up a credible and independent truth and reconciliation committee.

It would be asked to consider atrocities from the 1990s to the present day.

"Reconciliation has to happen with justice," he said.

Sheltering in a church

Mr Ouattara said he would be moving in a few days into the presidential palace and that a formal presidential swearing-in ceremony would follow.

Footage of the moment Laurent Gbagbo was detained

The Constitutional Council, run by an ally of Mr Gbagbo, had sworn him in as president in December, after annulling thousands of pro-Ouattara votes.

The country's security and resuming cocoa exports would be top priorities, the new president said.

"We need to secure the country, notably Abidjan," he said. "It is important for the country to emerge from this crisis on top."

Exports of cocoa, the West African nation's main foreign revenue earner, could be resumed immediately, he said.

Human rights group Amnesty International had earlier called on Mr Ouattara to end reprisal killings against those seen as Gbagbo supporters.

It said some pro-Ouattara forces were going house-to-house in Abidjan, abducting and killing people.

It also said some 27,000 people were still sheltering in a church in the western town of Duekoue, where hundreds of bodies have been found after pro-Ouattara forces advanced on Abidjan from their northern strongholds earlier this month.

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VIDEO: Embassies attacked in Ivory Coast

10 April 2011 Last updated at 03:20 GMT Help

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More bodies found in Ivory Coast

8 April 2011 Last updated at 11:56 GMT Pro-Ouattara forces round up prisoners in the main city of Abidjan More than 100 bodies have been found in Ivory Coast, the United Nations has said, amid the continuing conflict between rivals for the presidency.

The UN said the bodies had been found in the west of the country, in apparent ethnic killings.

Internationally recognised President Alassane Ouattara has been battling incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, who is blockaded in a bunker in Abidjan.

Meanwhile, the EU says it may ease sanctions after a plea by Mr Ouattara.

The UN has certified Mr Ouattara as the winner of November's run-off vote for president but Mr Gbagbo has refused to cede power.

Mr Ouattara's forces have swept down from the north over the past two weeks but much of the main city of Abidjan is dominated by Gbagbo supporters and days of fighting has plunged it into crisis.

'Liberian mercenaries'

Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said its team had found more than 100 bodies in the past 24 hours across three locations in the west.

"All the incidents appear to be ethnically motivated," he said.

Mr Ouattara tells Ivorians Mr Gbagbo's refusal to step down had caused a great crisis

The findings on 7 April were:

Duekoue: 15 new bodies, bringing the total number of known dead in a 28-29 March incident to 244. Victims mostly or all of Guerre ethnicity, traditional Gbagbo supporters. Some seem to have been burnt alive and some corpses were thrown down a wellBlolequin: 40 bodies. Perpetrators said to have been Liberian militias, who spared the Guerre after separating them out from other groupsGuiglo: 60 bodies, including a number of West Africans

The reports of mass killings began last week, after Duekoue was captured by pro-Ouattara forces.

Each side has blamed the other for the killings.

Mr Colville told the BBC there were fears more bodies would be found.

He added: "If Mr Gbagbo gives up, it would allow the new administration to try to restore law and order but it is very hard for everyone, including the UN, while this impasse continues."

Mr Colville said of the latest killings that "one has to be a little bit cautious of assigning responsibilities".

The Ouattara camp has previously accused Laurent Gbagbo of recruiting Liberian mercenaries, a claim Mr Gbagbo denies.

But there are reports of both sides using local ethnic militias, which have had a long-standing influence in the west of the country. They were not disarmed after the previous civil war and their overall loyalty is questionable.

'Question of principle'

On Friday, UN relief agencies called for humanitarian corridors which will allow safe passage for thousands of people fleeing the fighting.

Continue reading the main story 28 Nov 2010: Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and challenger Alassane Ouattara in election run-off2 Dec: Electoral commission announces that Ouattara won 54% of vote3 Dec: Constitutional Council declaring Gbagbo the winner; UN says Ouattara was victor30 Mar 2011: Pro-Ouattara forces enter the capital, Yamoussoukro4 Apr: UN launches air strikes on Gbagbo in main city, Abidjan5 Apr: Three generals negotiate Gbagbo's surrender6 Apr: Gbagbo denies he is ready to leaveMeanwhile, the European Union says it hopes to begin easing some of its sanctions on Ivory Coast soon, following a request from Mr Ouattara.

A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told the BBC: "We've received a request from President Ouattara to remove certain entities from the sanctions list. We are working on this in close consultation with President Ouattara and hope to be able to begin easing the sanctions soon."

There are EU sanctions across many sectors, including on two key ports, banks and on cocoa exports, as well as individual sanctions on Mr Gbagbo and dozens of his supporters.

In Abidjan, pro-Ouattara forces continue to besiege Mr Gbagbo in his residence.

Mr Ouattara said a blockade had been set up around the perimeter to make the district safe for residents. He said his forces would wait for Mr Gbagbo to run out of food and water.

Advisers to Mr Gbagbo say he is determined not to surrender.

"President Gbagbo will not surrender," said his Paris-based adviser Toussaint Alain.

"It's a question of principle. He is a president elected by his people."

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Scores missing off Italian coast

6 April 2011 Last updated at 21:08 GMT The BBC's Emma Wallis in Rome: "Coastguards are not giving up on the missing people yet"

Rescuers are searching for scores of migrants missing in the Mediterranean after their boat capsized off the south Italian island of Lampedusa.

Italian coast guards rescued 48 and three were saved by a fishing boat, but 20 deaths were confirmed and at least 130 people are unaccounted for.

Officials say the boat left two days ago from western Libya.

Lampedusa has struggled to cope with thousands of migrants arriving by boat from north Africa.

The Italian coast guard responded to a distress call from the boat, which was in Maltese waters some 70km (40 miles) from Lampedusa, at about 0400 local time (0200 GMT) on Wednesday.

Continue reading the main story

What we saw was incredible: heads were coming in and out [of the water] and people were screaming”

End Quote Francesco Rifiorito Captain of fishing boat Three coast guard vessels were dispatched along with at least one helicopter, which spotted the bodies in the water. A Maltese plane was reportedly also involved in the operation.

Lifejackets and lifeboats were cast into the water to help any survivors.

Coast guard spokesman Vittorio Alessandro told AFP news agency the boat, just 13m (42 ft) long, had been caught in high seas caused by strong winds and had overturned after passengers panicked.

Coast guards said the boat had been carrying around 200 people but the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) put the figure at 300.

Teams of rescuers, working in conjunction with the Maltese authorities, battled heavy seas, a force six storm and winds of up 30 knots (35 mph; 55 km/h) all day.

'Eritreans and Somalis'

The captain of the fishing boat described what he said was a terrifying scene.

"What we saw was incredible: heads were coming in and out [of the water] and people were screaming," Francesco Rifiorito told Italy's Ansa news agency.

"We did all we could."

Lampedusa's small field hospital has been overwhelmed, the survivors lying on beds around electric heaters to combat hypothermia.

The coast guard said the boat had left two days ago from the town of Zuwara in western Libya, which is embroiled in a civil war.

Those on the boat were mostly Eritreans and Somalis, they added. However, according to the IOM, the migrants and asylum-seekers came from Bangladesh, Chad, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan.

Among them there were five children and 40 women - of whom only two survived, the organisation said.

The European parliament held a minute's silence to mark the tragedy.

Hundreds of refugees from Libya, many of them migrant workers, have landed in Italy in recent days.

Italy and Tunisia agreed measures on Tuesday to stop large numbers of illegal immigrants arriving on Lampedusa from Tunisia, which has also been in turmoil since a revolution in January.

Italy says it will give six-month residency papers to some 20,000 migrants already in Italy, but new arrivals will be deported.

The accord followed talks between Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Tunisian ministers in Tunis on Monday. Mr Berlusconi also visited Lampedusa last week and pledged to tackle the island's migrant influx.

Italy has moved many migrants from Lampedusa to the mainland, because they outnumbered locals and overwhelmed the holding facility there. Unhygienic conditions, with dozens of migrants sleeping rough outdoors, created a health risk.

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Ivory Coast: Gbagbo repels attack

6 April 2011 Last updated at 22:33 GMT Troops on both sides have deployed heavy weapons for the battle Troops backing the internationally recognised president of Ivory Coast have been rebuffed in attempts to oust the country's incumbent leader.

Alassane Ouattara's forces launched an assault on the home of Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to stand down as president.

After hours of fighting, Mr Ouattara's men pulled back in the face of heavy fire from within Mr Gbagbo's residence.

Mr Gbagbo insists he won November's run-off vote, but election officials found Mr Ouattara was the winner.

That result was certified by the UN, but Mr Gbagbo has refused to leave office.

Mr Gbagbo and his family are believed to be sheltering in the bunker of his residence, in an upmarket area of Abidjan, Ivory Coast's main city.

He says Mr Ouattara's troops want to kill him, while they say they have strict orders to capture him alive.

Speaking by phone to French radio and sounding defiant, Mr Gbagbo denied he was hiding in a bunker.

"I am in the residence - the residence of the president of the republic. When it rains, can't one take shelter inside one's house?"

Mr Gbagbo had earlier denied he was surrendering, saying he was only negotiating a truce.

In a separate development late on Wednesday, French helicopters carried out an operation to evacuate the Japanese ambassador, whose Abidjan home was besieged by mercenaries, a source close to the rescue operation told the AFP news agency.

Troops 'in the building'

Gun, rocket and mortar fire was reported around Mr Gbagbo's residence during Wednesday.

Carrying automatic weapons and approaching the compound in pickup trucks modified to carry heavy machine guns, Mr Ouattara's troops attempted to storm the residence to spring Mr Gbagbo from his hideaway.

Continue reading the main story Andrew Harding BBC News, Abidjan

A negotiated ending might have helped ease tensions in this bitterly divided country. After all, Mr Gbagbo won 46% of the vote in the recent election.

But he seems to have overplayed a weak hand, and so a more forceful denouement beckons, and with it the real risk of greater instability.

What will his militias do if Mr Gbagbo is killed, or dragged out and humiliated?

Civilians, still trapped in Abidjan, say there has been sporadic gunfire across the city, with pro-Gbagbo militias still on the streets, and Ouattara force's still "mopping up" opposition at several military installations.

The stench of dead bodies, littering the sides of the road, is a powerful reminder of the price this city has paid for the "restoration of democracy".

But they faced stiff resistance from inside the property's walls, where Mr Gbagbo's supporters were said to be dug in with mortars and rocket launchers.

After several hours of fighting the sounds of battle died away.

Local residents, Western officials and representatives of Mr Ouattara's forces conceded that Mr Gbagbo's men had held out.

"We retreated but we are preparing for a second assault," a spokesman for the fighters, Yves Doumbia, told the Associated Press new agency.

The BBC's John James, outside Abidjan, says a new standoff appears to be developing, with the anti-Gbagbo forces possibly regrouping for an overnight assault.

"There are still some mortars and tanks in the presidential compound - the offensive was suspended for a few hours," French news agency AFP quoted a French official in Abidjan as saying.

Earlier, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Mr Gbagbo's "intransigence" had led to the collapse of UN-brokered talks aimed at negotiating an orderly departure.

"The conditions set by President Ouattara are very clear: he demands that Laurent Gbagbo accepts his defeat and recognises the victory of the legitimately elected president," he told parliament.

"That's where we stand today, so sadly the arms have begun to talk again."

France - the former colonial power in Ivory Coast - has troops in the country alongside UN peacekeepers. They are attempting to maintain security around Abidjan under the terms of a UN Security Council resolution.

Mr Juppe said neither French nor UN troops were involved in the offensive against Mr Gbagbo.

Civilians under siege

As the two sides continue to battle for the presidency, concern is growing over the humanitarian situation in Ivory Coast.

Following two days of advances in Abidjan by pro-Ouattara forces the city's four million people remain mainly inside their homes.

Soldiers, ex-rebel fighters, militia groups and mercenaries are battling for control of the streets, says the our correspondent. The main banks have been closed for nearly two months and few people have the funds to stock up on food.

Continue reading the main story 28 November: Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and challenger Alassane Ouattara in election run-off2 December: Electoral commission announces that Ouattara has won3 December: Constitutional Council declaring Gbagbo the winner; UN says Ouattara was victor30 March: Pro-Ouattara forces enter the capital, Yamoussoukro4 April: UN launches air strikes on Gbagbo in main city, Abidjan5 April: Three generals negotiate Gbagbo's surrenderThe UN and the Red Cross have both voiced their concern for the civilians caught up in the fighting. The Red Cross has described the humanitarian situation as "worsening" and is beginning to distribute 12 tonnes of aid to those judged most in need.

Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes to escape the violence, with the UN refugee agency reporting an increase in the number of Ivorians crossing the border into neighbouring Liberia.

The International Criminal Court says it is preparing to investigate reports of human rights abuses during the fighting.

Last November's election was intended to reunite Ivory Coast which split in two following a northern rebellion in 2002.

The electoral commission pronounced Mr Ouattara the victor, but Ivory Coast's Constitutional Council said Mr Gbagbo had won.

The US, the UN and the EU recognised Mr Ouattara as the winner, but both candidates had themselves sworn in as president and a stand-off ensued.

Skirmishes and battles between the rival forces have since taken place across Ivory Coast, culminating in Mr Ouattara's troops sweeping into Abidjan at the end of March.

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