THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MEA CULPA

ABIDJAN( IVORYCOAST): EXCERPTS FROM AFP (FRENCH NEWS AGENCY)

Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko blames the new attacks on Gbagbo's supporters working in partnership with rogue soldiers. But observers say that the violence is being abetted by the proliferation of arms throughout the country, a failure to reintegrate and disarm tens of thousands of ex-pro-Ouattara combatants, a stalled reconciliation process and one-sided justice from Ouattara's government that is exacerbating political divisions.

Toward the end of the post-election violence last year, Ouattara created a new army composed largely of fighters from the former New Forces rebel movement, which controlled the northern half of the country during a conflict that lasted from 2002 to 2010. However, many New Forces fighters have not been integrated into the new army.

These former rebels are disgruntled because in many cases they remain unemployed or are stuck working low-paying jobs more than one year after Ouattara came to power, said Drissa Kone, an Ivorian analyst based in Atlanta. He said that some of the fighters could well be former Ouattara backers.

"After the crisis there were a lot of fighters for the Forces Nouvelles that didn't get the remuneration they were expecting," Kone said, referring to the rebel group by its French name. "The fighters can be from anywhere."

Ivorian officials have been reluctant to acknowledge this possibility. Deputy Defense Minister Paul Koffi Koffi said Friday that the perpetrators of the recent violence could be divided into two categories: pro-Gbagbo militias and the mercenaries from the neighboring country of Liberia whom they have hired.

Several observers said this explanation may be deliberately simplistic.

"State representatives may be so adamant that pro-Gbagbo forces are behind the attacks because they know or suspect that some of their own former supporters are also involved," said Joseph Hellweg, an Ivory Coast expert at Florida State University. 

Meanwhile, there has been little progress to show for reconciliation efforts, including a truth and reconciliation commission formed last year. And there are few indications that divisions between the pro-Ouattara and pro-Gbagbo camps will soon be bridged.

"The fact is that national reconciliation has not yet started," said civil society activist Yacouba Doumbia.

Human Rights Watch and other groups say one-sided justice continues to polarize the country, undermining any faith that Gbagbo supporters might have in government institutions. Gbagbo has been charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court at The Hague, and more than 100 Gbagbo loyalists have been detained in Ivory Coast for their alleged roles during the postelection violence. But no Ouattara supporters have been detained or credibly investigated, despite evidence that they, too, committed atrocities. A new report of a national commission blames pro-Ouattara forces for hundreds of deaths. 

"A politicized judiciary has been at the heart of the Ivorian crisis for the last decade, undermining the rule of law and contributing to the country's deep divisions," said Matt Wells, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. "By sending the message that certain victim groups are less worthy of justice for post-election crimes, the one-sided prosecutions under the Ouattara government threaten to further this dangerous legacy of division."

A sense of insecurity persists over many parts of Ivory Coast.