Ouattara asks ICC to investigate post-poll violence

Côte d'Ivoire's President Alassane Ouattara has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into the violence that swept the country following the disputed November election. 

AFP / Issouf Sanogo

Ouattara sent a letter, dated 3 May, to ICC President Luis Moreno-Ocampo asking the court to investigate “the most serious crimes committed since 28 November 2010 throughout the Ivorian territory”.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has said his office is preparing to launch a formal investigation into mass killings which allegedly took place in the west African country.

There were reports of a massacre of several hundred people in Duékoué, in the west of the country, in the fighting that followed November's presidential election.

The UN, the African Union and the European Union all recognised Ouattara as the rightful winner.

However, incumbent Laurent Gbagbo refused to leave office and was captured following heavy fighting in Abidjan on 11 April.

A spokesperson for Ouattara said “there is no longer any impunity in Ivory Coast”.

“Reconciliation demands that justice be done. Without truth or justice there is no reconciliation," she said. "This shows Ivory Coast has entered a new era.”