Forest rangers in Ivory Coast tortured to death 13 villagers living in a national park after arresting them for trespassing, the U.N. mission in the West African country said on Wednesday. The villagers were among 32 people seized last month by guards who were under government orders forcibly to evict anyone living illegally in the Marahoue park, 300 km (185 miles) northwest of the main city Abidjan, the United Nations said. Some of those arrested were tortured in prison in the town of Bouafle and forced to pay 100,000 CFA francs ($200) to secure their freedom. "Ill treatment and torture resulted in the death of 12 people in the prison on Feb. 22 and another at a hospital on Feb. 27," the world body said in a statement. "The forest guards of Marahoue National Park inflicted the acts on them," it said. The world's top cocoa grower is already under scrutiny for its human rights record. The investigating commission which compiled the report called for the U.N. Security Council to ask the International Criminal Court to prosecute those guilty of the worst crimes. --More 2332 Local Time 2032 GMT
