a "settling of scores" in Côte d’Ivoire
Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:18 pmDuékoué was one of several towns to fall in recent days to pro-Ouattara troops now calling themselves the Forces Républicaines de Côte d’Ivoire (FRCI).
According to reports by the International Committee of the Red Cross and other aid agencies at least 800 people were killed in the Duékoué fighting. While details are sketchy, most victims appear to have been from the local Guéré community, traditionally Gbagbo supporters.
Some Duékoué residents contacted by IRIN blamed the killings on farmers living in encampments outside Duékoué - on land they have worked for decades - whom the Guéré have sought to oust since Gbagbo’s arrival in power.
Gbagbo sought to annul land leases to Burkinabé, Baoulé and other groups working the coffee and cocoa plantations, in favour of previous Guéré owners and their descendants. “These killings were a settling of scores,” one Guéré man said. “People came and killed the [mainly Wobé and Guéré] landowners.” Residents said people came to the town after the FRCI, armed primarily with hunting rifles and machetes.
The man, who preferred anonymity, said pro-Ouattara forces must account for the incident. “Truly, we do not understand. Someone with the FRCI must explain to us why, just after they came through, these killings happened.”
Carréfour
Most of the killings reportedly were in the Carréfour neighbourhood - known as a base for pro-Gbagbo militia. Residents said the militia had fled and innocent civilians were left behind. “[Groups who work the land] are taking advantage of the presence of the FRCI to eliminate as many [locals] as possible in order to control the land,” said one of the thousands of residents who have sought refuge at the Catholic mission in Duékoué.