CÔTE D’IVOIRE 350 Fifth Ave 34 th Floor New York, N.Y. 10118-3299 http://www.hrw.org (212) 290-4700 August 2003 Volume 15, No. 14 (A) TRAPPED BETWEEN TWO WARS: VIOLENCE AGAINST CIVILIANS IN WESTERN CÔTE D’IVOIRE 1630 Connecticut Ave, N.W., Suite 500 2nd Floor, 2-12 Pentonville Road 15 Rue Van Campenhout Washington, DC 20009 London N1 9HF, UK 1000 Brussels, Belgium TEL (202) 612-4321 TEL (44 20) 7713 1995 TEL (32 2) 732-2009 FAX (202) 612-4333 FAX: (44 20) 7713 1800 FAX (32 2) 732-0471 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] August 2003 Vol. 15, No. 14 (A) CÔTE D’IVOIRE TRAPPED BETWEEN TWO WARS: Violence Against Civilians in Western Côte d’Ivoire ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................................................. i I. SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................................................................1 II. RECOMMENDATIONS......................................................................................................................................3 To the Government of Côte d’Ivoire:....................................................................................................................3 To the “New Forces” (the MPCI, MJP and MPIGO rebel groups):......................................................................3 To the United Nations Security Council: ..............................................................................................................4 To France and ECOWAS:.....................................................................................................................................5 To the United States, France, the European Union and other international donors: .............................................5 III. BACKGROUND.................................................................................................................................................6 Economic recession and immigration....................................................................................................................6 Ivoirité: ethnic discrimination for political gain....................................................................................................7 The presidential and parliamentary elections of 2000...........................................................................................8 September 2002: from army “mutiny” to civil war...............................................................................................9 The war moves west: November 28, 2002 ..........................................................................................................11 IV. THE “WAR IN THE MOUTH”: THE ROLE OF POLITICAL RHETORIC AND THE MEDIA .................12 The role of the Ivorian media ..............................................................................................................................12 Political discourse: before and after September 19, 2002 ...................................................................................13 V. ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS AND OTHER NON-COMBATANTS BY GOVERNMENT FORCES ............14 Summary executions of civilians.........................................................................................................................15 The “cleaning” of Daloa: October 15-20, 2002...................................................................................................15 The massacre at Monoko-Zohi: November 28, 2002 ..........................................................................................17 Government forces recapture Man: December 1-18, 2002 .................................................................................18 Summary executions by government forces in other locations in the west.........................................................20 Indiscriminate and targeted helicopter attacks ....................................................................................................20 Indiscriminate helicopter attacks on the Vavoua and Pélézi area: December 2002 ............................................20 Targeted helicopter attacks on the Zouan-Hounien area: April 2003..................................................................22 Arbitrary arrests and detentions...........................................................................................................................23 Treatment of wounded and captured rebels.........................................................................................................24 VI. ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS AND OTHER NON-COMBATANTS BY THE IVORIAN REBEL GROUP .24 Abuses in MPCI-controlled territory...................................................................................................................24 Abuses by all three rebel groups in the west .......................................................................................................25 Attacks on government officials and government supporters .............................................................................25 Targeting of FPI members...................................................................................................................................26 Torture and mutilation of gendarmes and other government officials ................................................................27 Summary executions in and around Man: December 2002.................................................................................27 Sexual violence....................................................................................................................................................28 VII. THE ROLE OF LIBERIAN FORCES IN THE WEST...................................................................................29 Use of foreign mercenaries by the Ivorian government ......................................................................................29 Recruitment of Liberian fighters by the Ivorian rebel groups .............................................................................30 Recruitment of government-backed Liberian rebel fighters................................................................................32 Recruitment of Liberian refugees by government forces ....................................................................................33 VIII. ABUSES OF CIVILIANS BY LIBERIAN FORCES IN THE WEST..........................................................35 Looting: the initial incentive................................................................................................................................35 Abuses linked to resources: forced labor.............................................................................................................35 Sexual violence by Liberian fighters on both sides.............................................................................................36 Recruitment of child soldiers by both sides.........................................................................................................36 Killings of civilians .............................................................................................................................................37 The road to Toulepleu: creating a humanitarian crisis ........................................................................................38 Ravaging the villages around Toulepleu: February 2003....................................................................................39 Abuses evolve into ethnic conflict.......................................................................................................................39 The massacre at Bangolo: March 7, 2003 ...........................................................................................................40 The massacre at Dah: March 22, 2003 ................................................................................................................41 IX. THE ROLE OF CIVILIAN MILITIAS IN THE WEST...................................................................................41 The rise of youth groups and civilian militias .....................................................................................................41 Urban and rural violence in the west before the war...........................................................................................42 Political violence in Daloa town in the election campaign: June 2002 ...............................................................43 Village violence in June 2002: the targeting of the Burkinabé ...........................................................................43 State-tolerated violence by civilian self-defense committees..............................................................................44 Abuses by government forces in collaboration with civilian militias .................................................................46 Mob violence in total impunity in Duékoué: March-April 2003.........................................................................47 Reprisal killings of self-defense committee members.........................................................................................47 X. LEGAL OBLIGATIONS AND LOCAL RESPONSES TO ABUSES AGAINST CIVILIANS .......................48 Côte d’Ivoire’s legal obligations .........................................................................................................................48