A court in Cote d'Ivoire has issued arrest warrants against two soldiers suspected of involvement of murdering six people early in the month, according to a statement obtained here Friday from the United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (ONUCI).
The court in the western town of Man links the soldiers of the Cote d'Ivoire Republican Forces (FRCI) to the killing of six people, whose bodies were found on Oct. 11 in the western town of Duekoue.
The prosecutor launched an investigation after the bodies were exhumed from a mass grave and taken to the economic capital Abidjan for an autopsy to determine the exact circumstances under which the victims were killed.
The finding was the latest development since an attack was reported On July 20 at a refugee camp in Nahibly.
Assailants targeted the displaced from the post-election crisis, the majority of them being members of the Guere ethnic group from Duekoue.
The attackers were found from the Malinke tribe with the support of traditional hunters called Dozo and some were identified as officers from the FRCI.
The Guere natives are always considered as supporters of ex- president Laurent Gbagbo, while the Malinkes from the north are always considered as supporters of Gbagbo's rival, current President Alassane Ouattara.
According to the government, 11 to 13 people were killed in the attack and dozens of others were seriously injured. Other sources said hundreds of people were killed and many more were abducted.
ONUCI said, "The search is going on to verify whether there are more mass graves in the area."
The Nahibly camp was completely destroyed after hosting 5,000 people displaced in the 2010-2011 post-election crisis,
"ONUCI will not spare any effort in the search for the truth within its limited mandate and in conformity to Cote d'Ivoire's laws," the statement said.
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