problems are resolved, you’ll see everyone return from Liberia. But when you see that your land has been taken over, and there is nothing to eat, some people prefer to stay, where there is at least some food at the [refugee] camps.”171 Many residents and community leaders in western Côte d’Ivoire said that while the problem of land conflict was already serious, it would become even more so when those who were still in Liberia returned. The chief of a village between Guiglo and Bloléquin said in February that about 40 percent of his Guéré population remained in Liberia: “There are those who are in Liberia who when they return, there won’t even be a single hectare of their land left to cultivate. They’ll find their forest completely occupied, and they won’t be able to eat. That’s how violence starts.”172 After Human Rights Watch interviewed six Guérés with claims of land dispossession in a village south of Bloléquin, the village chief said similarly: “We’re only scratching the surface with what you heard today. When the refugees come back tomorrow, there are going to be lots of problems. [Much of] their land is gone. These last [cross-border] attacks are all about land. This has to be fixed.”173 Among the Ivorian refugee population in Liberia, there remain hardcore pro-Gbagbo militants who refuse to accept the legitimacy of the Ouattara government and who are interested in recruiting and waging attacks to destabilize Côte d’Ivoire.174 But there are also tens of thousands of people who are simply too afraid to return or see little to return to so long as their land is occupied. Many refugees and recent returnees interviewed by Human Rights Watch suggested that addressing claims of land restitution would pave the way for a wave of returns, marginalizing the hardliners in Liberia rather than offering them potential recruits as people grow more and more frustrated. A local government official in western Côte d’Ivoire said the government’s highest priority should be resolving land disputes to encourage the maximum number of refugee returns. He said: “If we do that and see a greater number of returns, things will return to normal here. If we don’t, if huge numbers remain in Liberia, there will be more attacks.”175 171 Human Rights Watch interview with alleged victim of land dispossession by illegal sale, Dedjéan, June 7, 2013. 172 Human Rights Watch interview with village chief, village in Bloléquin department, February 9, 2013. 173 Human Rights Watch interview with village chief, village in Bloléquin department, June 6, 2013. 174 Human Rights Watch interviews with Ivorian refugee population and with representatives from humanitarian organizations, Grand Gedeh, Liberia, December 2012. See also “Liberia: Ivorian Government Foes Wage, Plot Attacks,” Human Rights Watch news release, June 6, 2012. 175 Human Rights Watch interview with local government official, western Côte d’Ivoire, June 2013. 59 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | OCTOBER 2013