COTE D'IVOIRE: Ouattara’s forces committed numerous human rights violations

“Alassane Ouattara militias, known as the Republican Forces committed numerous human rights violations when responding to security threats. Soldiers rounded up hundreds of youth perceived to be pro-Gbagbo supporters in mass arbitrary arrests and detained and interrogated illegally at military camps. Cruel and inhuman treatment was common, as soldiers regularly beat detainees, who were forced to stay in extremely overcrowded cells and deprived of food and water.

In at least some cases in San-Pedro and Abidjan, the mistreatment rose to the level of torture - with military personnel inflicting extreme physical abuse in pressuring detainees to sign confessions or divulge information. Several commanders who oversaw these crimes were previously implicated in grave crimes during the post election crisis.”

“Ouattara's security forces were also implicated in criminal acts, including theft and extortion, perpetrated during neighboring sweeps when some soldiers stole cash and valuables from homes and people”

Source: Extract Report (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch)