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The Role of Armed Demonstrators

Official sources interviewed by Human Rights Watch said the Ivorian government’s consideration of the demonstrators as members of an armed opposition was justified because members of the G7 coalition, particularly its armed elements (New Forces), wanted to use the demonstration to provoke the fall of Gbagbo’s regime. Police and government officials said they had credible information that in the days prior to the demonstration, armed elements had infiltrated into Abidjan from the north and sought to foment a street uprising. A western intelligence source said they were aware of the presence in Abidjan of ‘armed groups in several quartiers of Abidjan who are supported by Ouagadougou (ie.the Burkina Faso government) and the New Forces and are ready to fight with the FPI.’²⁵ The Minister of Internal Security, Martin Bléou, pointed out that the freedom of movement prevailing in the area under government control allowed for the infiltration of combatants and weapons from rebel-held areas.²⁶

Several witnesses described the presence of demonstrators with firearms, and two described how they had been provided with firearms. One witness, whose statement Human Rights Watch could not corroborate, was told to shoot into the crowd of the demonstrators in an apparent effort to discredit the security forces. While Human Rights Watch cannot confirm the identity or intent of these armed individuals, their presence among hundreds if not thousands of unarmed demonstrators may have in some incidents on March 25, increased the likelihood of use of force by the security forces. 

A thirty-two year old ethnic Sénoufo from Abobo, described his recruitment and role:

I live in Derrière Rail. It’s a quartier of Abobo where people from the North represent the majority. On the night of 19 March, I was playing football when some individuals approached me and promised to give me 200,000 CFA if I followed them to Anyama. I needed money so I went there and stayed until the 21^st with a person I was instructed to contact. We were told instructors would be coming soon from Bouaké, bringing uniforms and weapons, in preparation for the march. Our job was to cover those who would attack policemen. The “instructors” spoke Dioula but with a Malian or Burkinabé accent.

On March 25 at 5:00 a.m., I left Anyama with 10 other men toward the entrance of Abobo. I had a shotgun and was wearing a black T-shirt with a dead head on it. My face was covered with coal. We were told to go around the nearby neighborhood of l’Avocatier. As soon as the police started firing tear gas, some of the demonstrators with arms were sent to divert the attention of the police and started firing with their weapons. We barricaded our neighborhood to impede any reprisals by the police.  I’ve lived in hiding since then because I am afraid of reprisals from both the RDR or rebels”²⁷

Another resident of Abobo, a thirty-four year old Dioula who claims to be an RDR supporter, described his experience:  

Three weeks before the rally, I was contacted by RDR people to assist them in organizing the march. They told me the purpose of the march was to force Gbagbo out of power. I was brainwashed: they told me that our brothers – the Dioulas - are killed everyday. They spoke about the frustrations and inequalities we face. Some of the leaders I met said they came from Bouaké.

On the evening of March 24, the distribution of weapons took place. I was given a shotgun which had been fabricated by traditional metal workers in Anyama. The instructions were that those who are not armed will march first. Those bearing arms would stay behind to cover them. We were told to shoot as soon as the security forces would react. We were to shoot at them and into the crowd.

On March 25, we were about 500 young men in the street. I was participating in the march in the Kennedy neighborhood of Abobo. I saw that the ones who came from Bouaké had assault rifles, AK-47. The brothers from Anyama had only shotguns (caliber 12) because they lacked the proper training to use the AK-47. I personally threw my weapon and ran away. I was too scared. Infiltrated rebels were wearing similar uniforms as security forces.”²⁸