UNITED NATIONS, May 5 (UPI) -- The Ivory Coast U.N. envoy Wednesday protested leaking of a Human Right Commission report charging Ivorian security forces with indiscriminate killings.
Ambassador Philippe Djangone-Bi told reporters leaking of the report into allegations of human rights violations during deadly March 25-26 demonstrations "clearly aims at weakening the president. And the comments on the radio can also have e negative effect on the process on national reconciliation," referring to broadcasts of the report.
The envoy said he was awaiting receipt of an official copy in French before commenting on its contents.
President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Seydou Diarra of the Government of National Reconciliation, the monitoring committee under the Linas-Marcoussis peace agreement and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan requested the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva to investigate.
Djangone said there were 37 victims, all but two killed on March 25. Two police officers were among the dead.
The commission report, a copy of which was obtained by United Press International, said "there were at least 120 people killed, 274 wounded and 20 disappeared." It said "There was no significant threat to the security forces by the demonstrators, who were not armed."
