Widespread abduction reports as Ivory Coast wracked by violence

The United Nations said it has received hundreds of reports of people being abducted from their homes at night by armed assailants in military uniform and that there is growing evidence of “massive violations of human rights” since Ivory Coast’s disputed election.

The statement from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights came a day after the UN said it would remain in Ivory Coast despite demands from the man refusing to give up the presidency that thousands of peacekeepers get out of the West African country.

Navi Pillay, the top UN human rights official, said that more than 50 people had been killed over the past three days in Ivory Coast. Previous estimates were that up to 30 people had died.

“The deteriorating security conditions in the country and the interference with freedom of movement of UN personnel have made it difficult to investigate the large number of human rights violations reported,” Ms Pillay said in a statement released from her office in Geneva.

It also said that the armed assailants behind the home abductions had been “accompanied by elements of the Defence and Security Forces or militia groups”.

International pressure is mounting for Laurent Gbagbo to concede defeat to opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, whose victory has been recognised by the United Nations, the US, former coloniser France and the African Union.

In Washington, the US State Department ordered most of its personnel to leave Ivory Coast because of the deteriorating security situation and growing anti-Western sentiment.

The order issued on Sunday exempts only the State Department’s emergency personnel. US officials also warned all American citizens to avoid travel to the West African nation until further notice.

The EU had given Gbagbo until Sunday to concede defeat or face sanctions that would include an assets freeze and a visa ban on him and his wife. The UN Security Council is also expected to meet today to discuss Ivory Coast’s political crisis.

Experts say there are few strong options for forcing Gbagbo out of office, and it is unlikely the African Union or others would back a military intervention.

In a statement read on state television on Saturday, Gbagbo’s spokeswoman said that 9,000 UN peacekeepers and another 900 French troops supporting them were to leave the volatile country immediately. Gbagbo accused the UN mission of backing his opponent, Alassane Ouattara, and arming rebels who support him.

The UN and the international community recognise Ouattara as the victor of last month’s presidential run-off vote. The UN had been invited by the country itself to supervise the vote and certify the outcome following a peace accord after Ivory Coast’s 2002-03 civil war.

About 800 UN peacekeepers are protecting the compound from which Ouattara is trying to govern the country. They are in turn encircled by Gbagbo’s troops.

The UN secretary-general said on Saturday that the UN mission known as UNOCI would stay in Ivory Coast despite Gbagbo’s demand.