Ivory Coast's Guei could face charges for election violence, says defense minister

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (Reuters) -- Ivory Coast's ousted army ruler Robert Guei could face charges linked to the killing of dozens of protesters after he tried to rig a presidential poll, the country's defense minister said on Monday.

Moise Lida Kouassi told reporters a meeting between Guei and President Laurent Gbagbo last week did not imply that Guei would not be prosecuted.

"The meeting does not mean impunity for General Guei," he said. "The government will let judicial procedures run their course freely."

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People in Ivory Coast were shocked by television pictures last Monday of a smiling Guei meeting Gbagbo and Guei's failure to express sorrow for the dead until prompted by journalists.

Guei went into hiding on October 25, when mass protests forced him to flee Abidjan after he tried to claim victory in a presidential election won by Gbagbo. Before he fled, his guards opened fire on protesters, killing dozens of them.

Lida Kouassi said the government understood the public reaction, but the meeting had been held to "solve a number of internal security problems."

"We wanted to give a strong signal to a certain number of soldiers who remained linked to Guei and refused to return to barracks," he said.

Guei was also being investigated over allegations of arbitrary arrests and torture following a September 18 attack on his residence which Guei described as a plot to kill him.

Lida Kouassi said several hundred members of Guei's guard were at Akouedo barracks on the outskirts of Abidjan. He said they had been disarmed but were not under arrest.

"We have about 500 people who have been trained by Boka Yapi at the Akouedo barracks. We are thinking of reintegrating them into the armed forces," he said.

Boka Yapi was one of the instigators of a pay mutiny that turned into the December 1999 coup which brought Guei to power. He was head of the Red Brigades militia, a group of soldiers who took part in the coup and then formed the bulk of Guei's close presidential guard.

Lida Kouassi said Boka Yapi was alive, dismissing reports that he had been killed during clashes with security forces loyal to Gbagbo. "We know were he is," he said.

Asked whether his government would award pay rises promised to soldiers by the Guei administration, Lida Kouassi said there was no need to do so.

"We are not going to keep promises that we haven't made. The military have understood this very well and have not asked us for anything," he said.

Guei promised pay increases after an army mutiny in early July.

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