New Ivorian army head says military should keep out of politics

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (Reuters) -- Ivory Coast's new armed forces chief, a senior member in the military junta that ruled for 10 months, called the army back to the barracks Tuesday and said the force should stay out of politics and seek reconciliation.

Gen. Mathias Doue spoke as he was installed as chief of staff in the main city, Abidjan, where gendarmes have been accused of taking sides against northern Muslims in ethnic clashes last week which killed scores of people.

"We should keep the army out of political debates," he said.

"From today on, let us refrain from pointless violence against the people. Let the state's justice take its course. Let us not transform Ivory Coast into a country of barbarians -- we will gain nothing by killing each other like savages," he added.

One local human rights organization quoted police sources as saying nearly 500 people had been killed during mass protests that chased army ruler Gen. Robert Guei from power and political and ethnic clashes that followed.

Guei tried to rig an October 22 presidential election won by socialist leader Laurent Gbagbo, who was swept to power by a people's power revolt.

But celebrations by supporters of Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) quickly gave way to violent clashes between rival political factions.

The Ivorian Movement for Human Rights (MIDH) accused gendarmes of siding with Gbagbo's supporters against those of former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara, who had taken to the streets demanding fresh elections.

Ouattara, who draws most of his support from the Muslim north, was excluded from the ballot. Gbagbo has a large following in the Christian and animist west and south of the country. Most of the casualties are believed to be Muslims.

A meeting between Muslim leaders and Gbagbo scheduled for Tuesday was postponed until Friday, presidency staff said.

A judicial inquiry into the violence, including the killing of 57 people found dead in a forest on the outskirts of Abidjan, started Tuesday, police sources said.

They said police would coordinate the investigation, and that the gendarmerie would also take part.

Ouattara's Rally of the Republicans (RDR) said the 57 were young northerners. Security sources have said they may have been killed in reprisal for the murder of a gendarme by an RDR mob.

Prime Minister Affi N'Guessan told Radio France Internationale that international organizations would be allowed to investigate, and said whoever was responsible would be found and punished. "No one is above the law," he said.

As the toll of dead and injured continued to grow, witnesses said they had seen groups of bodies over the weekend in or beside the lagoon around which Abidjan is built. One said he had seen 20 bodies that had already been pulled out of the lagoon Friday. It was not clear how they had died.

More people turned up Tuesday at a makeshift medical center outside Ouattara's house, where medical staff say they have treated over 550 injured people since Friday.

The RDR put the toll by Monday at 155 dead and 316 injured, with 116 people detained and 50 more missing.

Police sources said nearly 500 people detained last week had been released from a police school in Abidjan. Some of the people freed said they had been detained because they had northern names, and said they had been beaten.

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