Occupation by Force While the vast majority of cases of illegal occupation appear rooted in fraudulent sales or the extension of existing plots, Human Rights Watch documented four cases of more hostile land takeovers. The victims in each such case said that the occupiers made reference to having fought with pro-Ouattara forces during the crisis. All four cases transpired in villages south of Bloléquin that border the protected forest of Goin-Débé, which appeared to play a role in the occurrence and nature of these occupations. A resident of Diboké who had fled to Liberia described his problem: On April 15, 2012, I returned home and found that Burkinabés had taken over everything: my campement, my family’s forest, everything. There are dozens of them, maybe up to 100. I asked them who sent them, who gave them this land, and they said that it was their “reward” for having fought during the crisis…. They said that even the cocoa I planted on two hectares [before the crisis], which is in production, is theirs now. And they have cut down hectares and hectares of my family’s virgin forest, where they’re planting rubber trees and cocoa. They gave me the number of their “boss”, a Burkinabé from San Pedro. I spoke with him by phone, and he said he would give me 6 million CFA ($12,000) for all of the land. I said no, this is my land. He then came in person, about four months ago, and offered the same thing. I again said no. He told me that he thought my land was protected forest, and that his men had installed themselves as their “reward” for fighting during the crisis…. It’s not protected forest, it’s my land…. My land borders another campement, which borders the protected forest. The guys say they’re going to keep working so long as their boss tells them to…. I brought a complaint to the sub-prefect about a month ago. The subprefect gave me a summons to give to the Burkinabés, but when I tried to give it to them they said they weren’t going…. I have to survive on foodstuffs that I plant around the village, even though my father left me a “THAT LAND IS MY FAMILY’S WEALTH” 44