CÔTE D’IVOIRE

Trapped between Two Wars:
Violence Against Civilians in Western Côte d’Ivoire

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACRONYMS
MAP OF CÔTE D’IVOIRE
MAP OF WESTERN CÔTE D’IVOIRE

1. SUMMARY
   
   
2. RECOMMENDATIONS
   
To the Government of Côte d’Ivoire
To the “New Forces” (the MPCI, MJP and MPIGO rebel groups)
To the United Nations Security Council
To France and ECOWAS
To the United States, France, the European Union and other international donors


3. BACKGROUND
   
   Economic recession and immigration
   Ivoirité: ethnic discrimination for political gain
   The presidential and parliamentary elections of 2000
   September 2002: from army “mutiny” to civil war
   The war moves west: November 28, 2002
   
   
4. THE “WAR IN THE MOUTH”: THE ROLE OF POLITICAL RHETORIC AND THE MEDIA
The role of the Ivorian media
Political discourse: before and after September 19, 2002


5. ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS AND OTHER NON-COMBATANTS BY GOVERNMENT FORCES
Summary executions of civilians
The “cleaning” of Daloa: October 15-20, 2002
The massacre at Monoko-Zohi: November 28, 2002
Government forces recapture Man: December 1-18, 2002
Summary executions by government forces in other locations in the west
Indiscriminate and targeted helicopter attacks
Indiscriminate helicopter attacks on the Vavoua and Pélézi area: December 2002
Targeted helicopter attacks on the Zouan-Hounien area: April 2003
Arbitrary arrests and detentions
Treatment of wounded and captured rebels


6. ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS AND OTHER NON-COMBATANTS BY THE IVORIAN REBEL GROUPS
Abuses in MPCI-controlled territory
Abuses by all three rebel groups in the west
Attacks on government officials and government supporters
Targeting of FPI members
Torture and mutilation of gendarmes and other government officials
Summary executions in and around Man: December 2002
Sexual violence


7. THE ROLE OF LIBERIAN FORCES IN THE WEST
Use of foreign mercenaries by the Ivorian government
Recruitment of Liberian fighters by the Ivorian rebel groups
Recruitment of government-backed Liberian rebel fighters
Recruitment of Liberian refugees by government forces


8. ABUSES OF CIVILIANS BY LIBERIAN FORCES IN THE WEST
Looting: the initial incentive
Abuses linked to resources: forced labor
Sexual violence by Liberian fighters on both sides
Recruitment of child soldiers by both sides
Killings of civilians
The road to Toulepleu: creating a humanitarian crisis
Ravaging the villages around Toulepleu: February 2003
Abuses evolve into ethnic conflict
The massacre at Bangolo: March 7, 2003
The massacre at Dah: March 22, 2003


9. THE ROLE OF CIVILIAN MILITIAS IN THE WEST
   The rise of youth groups and civilian militias
   Urban and rural violence in the west before the war
   Political violence in Daloa town in the election campaign: June 2002
   Village violence in June 2002: the targeting of the Burkinabé
   State-tolerated violence by civilian self-defense committees
   Abuses by government forces in collaboration with civilian militias
   Mob violence in total impunity in Duékoué: March-April 2003
   Reprisal killings of self-defense committee members
   
   
10. LEGAL OBLIGATIONS AND LOCAL RESPONSES TO ABUSES AGAINST CIVILIANS
Côte d’Ivoire’s legal obligations
The response of the government of Côte d’Ivoire
The response of the rebel groups
The French response


11. THE REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Côte d’Ivoire’s neighbors: Liberia, Burkina Faso and Guinea
The regional actors: ECOWAS
The United Nations
Security Council
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)


12. METHODOLOGY
    
13. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

August 2003       Vol. 15, No. 14 (A)