Even after a cease-fire in the west was signed by the government and rebel groups in early May and a meeting with Liberian President Taylor took place in which both heads of state committed to refrain from supporting insurgents, there were continuing suspicions about ongoing support to Liberian rebel factions. In mid-May, George Dweh, the vice-president of the LURD faction, told journalists that he was in Abidjan on the government’s invitation and was planning to meet President Gbagbo. A government communiqué denied the allegation.198 Worryingly, recruitment in Nicla camp continued to be reported as of late-May, weeks after government and rebel forces signed a cease-fire in the west, and days after the head of the U.N. refugee agency, Ruud Lubbers, visited the camp and raised concerns over recruitment with President Gbagbo.199 A welcome sign of the new direction taken by the recently implemented government of reconciliation was the declaration of prime minister Seydou Diarra at the end of May, who stated that Côte d’Ivoire would ratify the treaty for the International Criminal Court and launch an inquiry into abuses with support from the U.N. Security Council.200 The latter step would provide a welcome start to the lengthy process needed to account for and punish the abuses of the war. The response of the rebel groups The Ivorian rebel groups, in particular the MPIGO group, are responsible for serious abuses, including rape, murder, and other acts of violence against civilians and other non-combatants in violation of Common Article 3 and Protocol II of the Geneva Conventions. Although many of the worst atrocities against civilians were committed by Liberian and Sierra Leonean fighters working with the MPIGO group, all of the rebel forces have committed abuses and should be held accountable for these acts. The MPCI clearly recognized the role played by the Liberian and Sierra Leonean contingents. In early April, Human Rights Watch was told by MPCI Secretary-General Guillaume Soro that the MPCI “was trying to get the Liberians out” and that they had told the prime minister Seydou Diarra that “if the French did not do anything in the west, then they would take matters in their own hands.”201 Details are unclear, but it is possible that around this time the MPCI may have decided to cooperate with the Special Court for Sierra Leone in order to turn over war criminal Sam “Mosquito” Bockarie, who was indicted by the Special Court in March 2002. It is unclear whether MPIGO leader Felix Doh was supportive or resistant to this idea. Doh was killed, allegedly by the Liberian and Sierra Leonean fighters under Bockarie, at the end of April, but rumors also circulated that the MPCI might have been responsible for his death.202 Sam Bockarie himself was killed several days later, apparently by Liberian government troops who stopped him while he was trying to re-enter Liberia. It is believed that President Taylor was behind the deaths of Bockarie, members of his family, and other potential witnesses against his own record of responsibility for abuses in the Sierra Leonean war.203 While the MPCI rebels acknowledged the problem posed and abuses resulting from the introduction of Liberian fighters, they initially denied links with the western rebel groups and have not publicly acknowledged responsibility for introducing any Liberian contingents. Even after all three groups were formally incorporated into the “New Forces” (Forces Nouvelles), the precise chain of command between the MPIGO rebels and their Liberian recruits remained unclear, although a chain of command certainly existed, at least in the initial period. 198 “Dirigeant du LURD à Abidjan: le gouvernement dément toute rencontre officielle,” Agence France Presse, May 15, 2003. 199Silvia Aloisi, “Refugee camp nurtures recruits for Ivorian war,” Reuters, May 18, 2003, at www. Reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf./ByCountry/CôtedIvoire (accessed May 20, 2003). 200 Integrated Regional Information Network, “Côte d'Ivoire: Government to inquire into human rights abuses,” May 29, 2003, at www.reliefweb.int (accessed May 31, 2003). 201 Human Rights Watch interview, Bouaké, March 31, 2003. 202 “Ivorian leader ‘found dead’,” BBC News, April 28, 2003, at http/://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/Africa/2981383.stm (accessed April 28, 2003). 203 Integrated Regional Information Network, “Bockarie’s death boosts chances for peace,” May 9, 2003, at www.reliefweb.int (accessed May 30, 2003). Human Rights Watch 50 August 2003, Vol. 15, No. 14 (A)