The world's top war crimes prosecutor said forces loyal to ousted Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo as well as those backing his rival, Alassane Ouattara, committed war crimes in the post-election violence, according to Reuters. Former President Gbagbo refused to cede power to Ouattara following the Nov. 28 election, triggering months of violence and economic havoc in the world's top cocoa-producing country before Gbagbo was captured in April in Abidjan. After lodging a request with International Criminal Court judges on Thursday for approval to start an investigation, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said at least 3,000 people were killed and 520 people were arbitrarily detained in the violence. There were more than 100 reported cases of rape and the number of unreported cases could be much higher, he added. Moreno-Ocampo, who will send a team to assess the security situation in the Ivory Coast on Monday and to plan for his investigation, said it was not yet clear who was the most responsible for the crimes. -- SPA
