Ivory Coast mired in confusion

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, July 20 (UPI) -- There's still a sense of confusion in Ivory Coast more than a year after the former president was transferred to The Hague, a rights official said.

Ivory Coast was pushed to the brink of civil war following disputed presidential elections in December 2010 that were meant to unite a country divided by earlier conflict. Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo is awaiting trial at The Hague on war crimes charges and there were allegations the current government of Alassane Ouattara may be under threat.

The Ivorian Human Rights League estimates around 2,000 fighters loyal to Gbagbo were arrested in northern Ivory Coast. Liberian mercenaries, meanwhile, are said to be contributing to national security threats in the country.

Rene Hokou Legre, director of the rights group, told the United Nations' humanitarian news agency IRIN that things remained unsettled more than a year after Gbagbo's arrest.

"There is still some sort of confusion in the country," he said. "There is no clear division of responsibility at the top government level, so much so that we do not know who is arresting who, and the abuses continue."

The U.N. Security Council this week was told the security situation in Ivory Coast was "complex." Chaloka Beyani, U.N. special envoy on the human rights of the internally displaced, leaves Monday for Ivory Coast to assess the situation in the country.