Mass Graves Speak of Violence in Ivory Coast
- 13 years ago
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We go to the Ivory Coast where mass graves attest to the brutality of a 5-month-long power struggle for the country's presidency that ended last month. Residents of Abidjan tell how they buried their relatives in mass graves during fierce fighting over the city's control.
In a muddy slum at the edge of Ivory Coast's main city, palm leaves stuck in rusty piles of earth mark the graves of 68 villagers. They were killed by rampaging militias over the last month.
There are 11 graves, one of them conspicuously large--about 4 metres across and wide--with a small bunch of flowers at its center.
[...]
[Ibrahim Bakayoko, Local Chief]:
"If there was one more person buried here, it would make 30 bodies in this grave."
Relatives of those killed say they had no choice but to bury them together, as constant fighting and shooting around them made even burials very dangerous.
Bakayoko helped bury his close family members himself.
[...]
[...]
The conflict was triggered when Gbagbo refused to concede an election that he lost to Ouattara by 8 points.
Fighting has died down since Ivorian troops captured a naval base in Abidjan from remnants of Gbabgo's militiamen last week.
The poor, densely populated district of Yopougon bore the brunt of the worst urban warfare between Gbagbo's and Ouattara's forces.
The mass graves unearthed so far attest to the violence.
[Zakaria Kone, Local Chief, Republican Forces of Ivory Coast]:
"For the moment in Yopougon everything is calm. Anyway, it's a few days now since I've last heard any shooting, so for the moment it's ok."
Around a dozen or so vehicles that Kone's forces reclaimed from armed youth in the area are now parked at the local Republican Forces headquarters.
[...]
Shooting seems to have died down recently, although Yopougon remains a highly dangerous neighborhood.
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We go to the Ivory Coast where mass graves attest to the brutality of a 5-month-long power struggle for the country's presidency that ended last month. Residents of Abidjan tell how they buried their relatives in mass graves during fierce fighting over the city's control.
In a muddy slum at the edge of Ivory Coast's main city, palm leaves stuck in rusty piles of earth mark the graves of 68 villagers. They were killed by rampaging militias over the last month.
There are 11 graves, one of them conspicuously large--about 4 metres across and wide--with a small bunch of flowers at its center.
[...]
[Ibrahim Bakayoko, Local Chief]:
"If there was one more person buried here, it would make 30 bodies in this grave."
Relatives of those killed say they had no choice but to bury them together, as constant fighting and shooting around them made even burials very dangerous.
Bakayoko helped bury his close family members himself.
[...]
[...]
The conflict was triggered when Gbagbo refused to concede an election that he lost to Ouattara by 8 points.
Fighting has died down since Ivorian troops captured a naval base in Abidjan from remnants of Gbabgo's militiamen last week.
The poor, densely populated district of Yopougon bore the brunt of the worst urban warfare between Gbagbo's and Ouattara's forces.
The mass graves unearthed so far attest to the violence.
[Zakaria Kone, Local Chief, Republican Forces of Ivory Coast]:
"For the moment in Yopougon everything is calm. Anyway, it's a few days now since I've last heard any shooting, so for the moment it's ok."
Around a dozen or so vehicles that Kone's forces reclaimed from armed youth in the area are now parked at the local Republican Forces headquarters.
[...]
Shooting seems to have died down recently, although Yopougon remains a highly dangerous neighborhood.