Pro-Ouattara forces round up prisoners in the main city of Abidjan More bodies found in Ivory Coast
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 now 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.
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.
“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
Mr Colville said that 40 bodies had been found in Blolequin, west of the town of Duekoue, adding that the “perpetrators appear to be Liberian mercenaries”.
He said: “The team also went to a nearby town of Guiglo, where they saw more than 60 bodies.”
He said some victims had been burned alive and others had been thrown down a well.
The announcement follows reports of separate mass killings last week in Duekoue, following its capture by pro-Ouattara forces.
Each side blamed the other for those killings, which the International Committee of the Red Cross says claimed at least 800 lives.
Mr Colville said of the latest killings that “one has to be a little bit cautious of assigning responsibilities”.
On Friday, UN relief agencies called for humanitarian corridors which will allow safe passage for thousands of people fleeing the fighting.
Meanwhile, the European Union says it hopes to begin easing some of its sanctions on the Ivory Coast soon, following a request from Mr Ouattara.
A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Baroness 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.
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