Former Ivorian minister fears for his life

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ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, June 28 (UPI) -- A chief ally of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo said he was outside of the country and running for his life.

Charles Ble Goude, the Ivorian youth minister under the former government, fled the country in April 2011 when Gbagbo was arrested and transferred to The Hague where he faces war crimes charges.

Ble Goude denied to the BBC that he was responsible for leading a militia during the violent aftermath of 2010 presidential elections.

"I'm not running from justice," he said. "People are looking to kill me."

He was accused in 2006 of encouraging attacks against U.N. workers in the country. The elections in 2010 were meant to unite a country divided by earlier civil war.

He said he would consider appearing before the International Criminal Court in an effort to exonerate himself.

"I think my place is not there but if my presence there can clear what happened … I'm ready to do that," he said.

He told the BBC during the height of the conflict last year that accusations against Gbagbo were one-sided. An estimated 3,000 people were killed during the crisis that followed 2010 elections.