UNITED NATIONS: UN workers found 68 bodies in 10 graves in a district of Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan where followers of rival political leaders fought for control, a UN spokesman said Monday.
There were 31 men in one mass grave and 21 in another in the Yopougon district and the killings were believed to have been carried out by followers of deposed president Laurent Gbagbo, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told a briefing.
The graves were found Friday. Investigators for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights are "interviewing witnesses and families of victims to find out what happened," Haq said, adding that there were allegations of other graves nearby.
"It is believed that the killings took place on April 12 by pro-Gbagbo militia and that those killed are all male."
Yopougon fell to President Alassane Ouattara's forces last week after heavy fighting.
A months-long conflict opposed Ouattara and Gbagbo after Ouattara was declared winner of a presidential election in November but Gbagbo refused to leave office. More than 1,000 people died in the unrest, according to UN figures.
In Abidjan, Guillaume Ngefa, deputy director of the UN Human Rights Office in Ivory Coast, said all of the 68 bodies found so far were men. They were buried the same day they were killed.
"The bodies have not been exhumed. We have a list of the victims and witness accounts," Ngefa told AFP.
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