The Iti gold mine, located fifteen kilometers from the town of Zouan-Hounien, quickly became a target for looting. A resident told Human Rights Watch, “the rebels are forcing people to work there. Some stocks are left, but when those are gone, then what?”132 Following the pattern established in Liberia, many young male civilians were forced to work for the Liberians, portering large quantities of personal goods, gold, and other resources across the border into Liberia. Young men were also forced to carry arms through the forest areas along the border. One young Ivorian who fled Danané for Guinea was captured by the Liberians near Mapleu. He was told by the Liberians, ‘You’re Ivorian, you must stay back there.’ They hit him with a gun and stole his bag and money, then forced him to carry arms from Mapleu to various checkpoints for two days.133 The cocoa and coffee harvest, which usually takes place between October and January, was also ripe for the taking, and a portion was shuttled out of the country, apparently through Guinea, Mali and Ghana. While details of this operation remain unclear, this may have been a coordinated effort by all three rebel groups. Apparently over fifty thousand tons of cocoa were sent out of the country in a matter of weeks.134 The triangle west of Zouan Hounien over the Cavally river and south of Zou town is one of the richest in Côte d’Ivoire. The crop was brought out, first on the backs of young men forced to carry it to Zouan Hounien. From there, trucks were organized to take it across the Ivorian border, partly to Guinea, a logical choice given Liberia’s lack of road infrastructure and markets.135 Sexual violence by Liberian fighters on both sides Rape and sexual slavery also occurred on a regular basis by Liberian fighters on both sides. In some cases it appears that rape was used specifically as a weapon of war, with the aim of terrorizing and humiliating the civilian population. Human Rights Watch was told that around rebel-occupied Zouan-Hounien, “there’s so much rape, it’s normal, we don’t even talk about it. The rebels rape in front of the husband, make him watch, and then force him to thank them on his knees.”136 In areas occupied by the government-allied Liberian forces, there were also regular incidents of rape and sexual slavery by the MODEL Liberian fighters, who, “take your wives and rape them in front of you.”137 Older women were often forced to cook and do other chores by the Liberians on both sides.138 Recruitment of child soldiers by both sides As in the Liberian conflict, children, particularly Liberian boys, were frequently used as fighters by the Liberian forces. Some of the child soldiers were Liberian children who may have been recruited from internally displaced camps in Liberia and refugee camps in Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire. Western observers of conditions in the rebel areas told Human Rights Watch that among every Liberian unit of five or six fighters linked to the MPIGO there would usually be at least one child soldier, often as young as ten to twelve-years-old, armed with machine guns. Among the fighters were also likely former members of Charles Taylor’s “Small Boy Units,”139 as some of them described starting young in Liberia, fighting in Sierra Leone, then going back to Liberia, and having a contract to continue fighting in Togo.140 132 Human Rights Watch interview, Abidjan, March 24, 2003. 133 Human Rights Watch interview, Guinea, March 2003. 134 Human Rights Watch interview, Abidjan, March 28, 2003. 135 Human Rights Watch interview, Abidjan, March 28, 2003. 136 Human Rights Watch interview, Abidjan, March 24, 2003. 137 Human Rights Watch interview, Guiglo, April 4, 2003. 138 Human Rights Watch interview, Duékoué, April 2, 2003. 139 The “Small Boy Units” were initially composed of war orphans recruited by Taylor’s rebel forces in the first Liberian war. Many of these recruits became known for their fierce fighting behavior and their loyalty to Taylor. See Human Rights Watch/Africa, “Easy Prey: Child Soldiers in Liberia,”A Human Rights Watch Report, 1994. This pattern of recruiting children was later duplicated in the Sierra Leone war and has continued in Liberia, with fresh reports of the recruitment of children from displaced persons camps near Monrovia emerging as recently as May 2003. 140 Human Rights Watch interview, March 24, 2003. Human Rights Watch 36 August 2003, Vol. 15, No. 14 (A)