Allies of former Ivorian President Gbagbo charged over post-election violence

[News_Editor]

Allies of former Ivorian President Gbagbo charged over post-election violence

2011-08-11 10:00:16 GMT+7 (ICT)

ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (BNO NEWS) -- The son of former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo is among 12 more people who have been charged over post-election violence which killed an estimated 3,000 people, the BBC reported on Thursday.

Michel Gbagbo, who has both French and Ivorian nationalities, was charged along with other close allies of his father, including former prime minister and head of Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front (PFI), Pascal Affi N'Guessan.

All the key figures arrested along with Gbagbo in April have now been charged, except for the former president himself and his wife Simone. The 12 Gbagbo allies have been charged with taking part in an armed insurrection and attempting to undermine the state.

The group is being held in separate towns in the north, which is a stronghold of current President Alassane Ouattara. Officials have said they could also face an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

But Gbagbo's lawyer, Herve Gouamane, condemned the charges saying the lawyers were not informed. "At the same time they talk about reconciliation they go after those who were close to Gbagbo and they're attacked simply for being linked to Gbagbo," Gouamane told the BBC.

26 other allies of Gbagbo had already been charged while international arrest warrants have been issued for those who have fled overseas. These include militant youth leader Charles Ble Goude and Kone Malachie, a self-proclaimed prophet who told the former president he was God's appointed ruler of Ivory Coast.

President Ouattara has always insisted that those on both sides of the political divide should face justice if they committed crimes during the five-month post-election dispute. But so far, none of his supporters have been arrested or charged, even though human rights groups have accused some of them of killing people suspected of backing Gbagbo.

An armed rebellion in 2002 split the country into a Government-controlled south and a rebel-held north. Since then, peace deals have alternated with renewed violence as the country has slowly edged its way towards a political resolution of the conflict.

However, the presidential elections in late 2010 led the country to a new crisis when Alassane Ouattara won the UN certified poll and incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat. The five-month fighting killed as many as 3,000 people and left up to 1 million Ivoirians displaced.

The impasse ended in April when forces loyal to Ouattara entered Abidjan and captured Gbagbo with the backing of UN and French troops. Ouattara was sworn in as the country's legitimate president in May 2011.

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