U.N. vows to treat Gbagbo with dignity

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, July 5 (UPI) -- U.N. peacekeepers are committed to the protection of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, the U.N. special envoy to the country said.

French peacekeepers assisted in the April detention of Gbagbo with the help of forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara. Ouattara was later sworn in as president of Ivory Coast, though Gbagbo refused to hand over power after November elections.

Political violence that followed the November election threatened to push the country toward civil war. Thousands were killed during the conflict. International rights groups blamed both sides of the conflict for the violence.

Y.J. Choi, the U.N. special envoy and head of the U.N. peacekeeping force in the Ivory Coast, said his troops would keep Gbagbo protected while he was under house arrest in Korhogo.

"(The peacekeeping force) will do everything to ensure that he is treated with dignity," he said in a statement.

Ouattara requested an investigation into the violence in a letter to the International Criminal Court.

The ICC estimates at least 3,000 people were killed in the ensuing violence. There were also 100 reported cases of rape and 520 people were arbitrarily arrested.

Ivory Coast isn't party to the Rome Statute that created the ICC. If the judges approve the request, it would be the first investigation into a state that doesn't formally recognize the ICC's jurisdiction.