“They looked at his identity card and shot him dead” Six months of post-electoral violence in Côte d’Ivoire 53 Protection of the civilian population in Abidjan Amnesty International informed UNOCI that during its two research missions, carried out in January and February, then in March and April 2011, victims of human rights violations and abuses as well as their families had told the Amnesty International delegates that UNOCI did not answer to their request for help at a time when they were subjected to abuses, including the shelling of the districts of Abobo and Yopougon. UNOCI officials responded that although the protection of civilians was within their mandate, the primary responsibility to protect civilians rested with the national authorities of Côte d’Ivoire. UNOCI officials said that despite the fact that they did not have the resources to respond to all protection requests, they carried out many daily patrols. UNOCI explained its difficulties to answer all requests for help by the fact that they were seen as being hostile by supporters of Laurent Gbagbo and had been several times targeted and attacked. They stressed that Security Council resolution 1975 (2011), which allowed UNOCI to destroy heavy weapons, made the difference as it “helped to bring down Laurent Gabgbo”. The meeting with the UNOCI leadership did not shed light on the concrete measures UNOCI took to ensure the protection of civilians in these difficult circumstances, especially to protect those being subjected to shelling, both in Abobo and in Yopougon. Protection of Laurent Gbagbo and his family The Amnesty International delegation welcomed the statement made by Alain Le Roy, Head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), on 11 April 2011, according to which the UN would guarantee the security and physical integrity of Laurent Gbagbo and his family. The delegation stressed that it had received worrying information indicating that people close to Laurent Gbagbo had been ill-treated during their arrest. The UNOCI officials responded saying that they had not been involved in the attack on the presidential residence or in the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo and his supporters. UNOCI had been involved in the aircraft attacks against heavy artillery under the SC resolution 1975(2011) but stressed that most of these attacks were carried out by the French troops of the Force Licorne. Protection of the civilian population in the west of the country During the meeting, the Amnesty International delegates informed UNOCI that it had collected many witness statements pointing at the late deployment of UNOCI forces to protect the site of the Catholic Mission in Duekoué where more than 25,000 displaced people had sought refuge. The delegation stressed that several witnesses had told Amnesty International that, on Tuesday 29 March 2011, they informed UNOCI that civilians belonging to the Guéré ethnic group were being massacred in the Quartier Carrefour, but that the peacekeeping forces based within one kilometre did not intervene to protect the people in danger. The UNOCI officials answered that during the fighting in Duékoué, the peacekeepers were not able to protect civilians as they had to protect themselves and stressed that the UNOCI Index: AFR 31/002/2011 Amnesty International May 2011