32 “They looked at his identity card and shot him dead” Six months of post-electoral violence in Côte d’Ivoire 4. VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AND HUMAN RIGHTS LAW IN THE WEST OF THE COUNTRY 4.1 THE WEST OF THE COUNTRY: A REGION THAT HAS BEEN UNSTABLE FOR MORE THAN TEN YEARS Since December 2010, the most serious human rights violations and abuses have been committed in the west of the country, a region rich in coffee and cocoa plantations and which has long been the scene of inter-communal tension. Throughout the last decade, xenophobic rhetoric about “Ivoirité“ combined with the economic crisis led to conflicts over land between populations claiming they are native to the region and other populations who have come from other regions of the Côte d'Ivoire and neighbouring countries. These populations had settled in the region sometimes for decades, in particular to work on the coffee and cocoa plantations.20 Since the 2002 coup attempt, tens of thousands of planters, of many different origins, have been chased off their land by the two parties to the conflict. In addition, hundreds of women and girls have been victims of sexual violence, including rape, which was used as a weapon of war. 21 4.1.1. CREATION OF MILITIAS In the west of the country, the Laurent Gbagbo government encouraged and created selfdefence militias that have often fought alongside the security forces. These militias were created to compensate for the inability of the Ivorian army to counter the FAFN in the months that followed the 2002 coup attempt. The Malinkés and Dioula communities (from the north of the country) also created militias compozed especially of Dozos (traditional hunters).22 These different militias committed serious human rights abuses during inter-communal clashes. Amnesty International May 2011 Index: AFR 31/002/2011