AMSTERDAM – The International Criminal Court war crimes court says it will investigate killings and rapes committed in the Ivory Coast when violence broke out after disputed presidential elections last year.
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo requested in June the right to open an investigation, alleging that forces loyal to ousted leader Laurent Gbagbo, as well as those backing his rival Alassane Ouattara, committed war crimes.
In a ruling made public yesterday, ICC judges granted the prosecutor the right to open an investigation. This will be the Hague-based court’s seventh formal investigation, all of them in Africa.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo has said at least 3,000 people were killed and 520 people were arbitrarily detained in the violence. – (Reuters)