Victims of Ivory Coast violence found in mass grave, ex-PM says

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (CNN) -- Former prime minister Alassane Ouattara said Friday the bodies of dozens of his supporters were found in a mass grave on the outskirts of Abidjan.

Fifty to sixty bodies were found in a grassy field in front of the Abidjan prison at about 4 p.m. Friday, Ouattara told CNN.

Ouattara said the discovery brings to 150 the number of supporters who have died in violent clashes since Sunday's presidential election.

Ouattara said doctors had been called to the scene of the mass grave, and that a video had been made of the discovery of the bodies.

Earlier, Ouattara met for talks with President Laurent Gbagbo and said after the meeting that he would not block the formation of a new government.

"We have agreed that he could, if he wished, go ahead with the formation of a government today without the RDR," Ouattara said. "Legislative elections are due to be held in December. We can reexamine these questions after the elections."

After the meeting, Gbagbo announced that he had selected Affi N'Guessan to serve as his prime minister. N'Guessan was minister of Industry and Tourism in the outgoing government of ousted military ruler Gen. Robert Guei.

VIDEO CNN's Charlayne Hunter-Gault has an update on events in Ivory Coast Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     RESOURCES Ivory Coast power struggle at a glance

Gbagbo assumed the presidency on the heels of a popular uprising that erupted when Guei halted the vote counting of Sunday's presidential election and declared himself the winner on Tuesday.

But the ballot itself had been disputed since Guei's supreme court banned several parties -- including the popular Ouattara's RDR -- from participating. Demanding a new election, Ouattara's supporters entered the fray after Guei fled to parts unknown.

Dozens were killed in the street fighting that followed.

Gbagbo was sworn in as president on Thursday, and pledged to adhere to Guei's timetable for a return to democracy following the December 1999 pay-mutiny-turned-coup that toppled President Henri Konan Bedie.

The coup was the first for Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer.

CNN Correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Organization of African Unity
Amnesty International 2000 country report, Ivory Coast
U.S. Department of State, Human Rights Reports for 1999: Cote d'Ivoire
Library of Congress, Country Study, Ivory Coast

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