Ivory Coast needs more help, U.N. says

GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- More support is needed from the humanitarian community to assist the Ivorian population in overcoming the post-election crisis, a U.N. official said.

Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa-producing nation, was pushed to the brink of civil war following a November election mean to unite a divided country. Alassane Ouattara took control over the country after French forces helped arrest former president Laurent Gbagbo in April but not before thousands of people were killed and many more were displaced.

Ndolamb Ngokwey, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Ivory Coast, said in a statement that internally displaced Ivorians needed special attention.

"Support from the humanitarian community is essential in meeting the needs of these populations and those in other communities affected by the post-election crisis," he said in a statement.

Emergency assistance packages for Ivory Coast and the surrounding region have raised $91 million out of the $292 million requested.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, said following a weekend visit with Ouattara that it was "critically important" for all sides to seek reconciliation.

On Oct. 3, a pretrial chamber at the ICC said it granted the prosecutor's request to investigate crimes committed since the November election. The chamber also requested additional information about crimes possibly committed from 2002-10, when Ivory Coast's civil war divided the country.