The United Nations says 26 people were killed in the last month in Ivory Coast and that residents blame most of the killings on forces loyal to the president, who was sworn into office in May amid promises to guide the nation to recovery after months of postelection violence. Local U.N. Human Rights Chief Guillaume Ngefa said Thursday that the killings happened in parts of the country loyal to former strongman Laurent Gbagbo.
In the west, a pro-Gbagbo tribe attacked and killed locals. In other areas the U.N. reported deadly clashes between forces for President Alassane Ouattara and local youths. The U.N. also said armed robbers were killed in what appear to be acts of vigilante justice.
Ngefa has stated that regional U.N. offices received more than 100 reports of human rights violations in the past month, including 85 arbitrary arrests and illegal detentions, along with cases of extortion and racketeering. He also said eight mass graves had been found in July in Abidjan, the economic hub, but that the number of bodies in the graves had not been counted.
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Gbagbo and his wife are in custody and have not been charged. Earlier this week Gbagbo's son and 11 others were charged over their postelection activities. No member of Ouattara's group has been charged.
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