ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, July 15 (UPI) -- U.N. officials said they were concerned about allegations that forces loyal to Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara had committed crimes against humanity.
Ivory Coast was pushed to the brink of civil war following a November presidential election. Ouattara was recognized by the international community as the winner, though rival candidate Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent, refused to surrender power.
Gbagbo was detained with the help of French peacekeepers in April but not before thousands were killed and many more displaced. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said they have evidence to suggest both sides committed war crimes during the violence.
Hamadoun Toure, a spokesman for the United Nations, said in a statement that U.N. peacekeepers in Ivory Coast were concerned about crimes allegedly committed by Ouattara loyalists in the Republican Forces of the Ivory Coast, who fought on his side during the post-election crisis.
"During last week, at least 25 cases of torture and ill-treatment were reported in Daloa, Gabia Kinkeninda and Zoukougbeu," he said in a statement. "At least four people were threatened with death by these same elements."
Ouattara had asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the violence in his country.
U.N. peacekeepers in the area said they were collecting weapons Friday from militiamen in the commercial capital Abidjan.
