Name assigned by coder: | yes |
PGM ID Number: | 544 |
Country: | Cote d'Ivoire |
Date formed: | Jan. 1, 2005 |
Accuracy of date formed: | year |
Details of Formation: | The various groups were installed in 2005 by the government to help President Gbagbo stay in office after the first civil war. |
Date dissolved: | Nov. 1, 2008 |
Accuracy of date dissolved: | month |
Details of Termination: | The group was dismantled in 2008 with the Ouagadougou Accord that ended the civil war of 2002 to 2007. The National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration promoted the group’s disintegration by attempting to reintegrate the members into the Ivorian society. Sources note that this attempt was not fully successful as the militias began to form again. |
Termination Type(s): | government defects |
Predecessor group(s): | none |
Successor group(s): | none |
Private Military Company? | no |
Former Group? | no |
Former Armed Group? | no |
Former Rebel Group? | no |
Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | unclear |
Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation: | semi-official (type 2) |
Created by the Government?: | yes | Main Creating Government Institution: | unclear |
Government Link(s): | person/minister |
If link to party, name of party: | None |
Training and Equipment: | yes |
Shared Information and Joint Operations: | no information |
Shared Personnel: | no information |
Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government |
State Sponsor(s): | none |
Other Connection(s): |
Membership: | ideology; children |
Primary Membership: | no information |
Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
Location: | South and West of Cote d’Ivoire (Abidjan, Loh-Djiboua region, Vridi) |
Force Strength: | [2500, 20000] |
Target(s): | unarmed political opposition, government critics |
Purpose(s): | protect state, national or religious leader(s); intimidate political opposition |
Ethnic Target(s): | none |
Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
Ethnic Membership: | none |
Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
Ethnic Purpose: | none |
Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information: |
Purpose: | The Southwestern militia formed in 2005 to stabilize former President Gbagbo’s political power and to curb political opposition. |
Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians: | No information. |
Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | unknown |
PGM Members Coerced? | yes |
PGM Members Paid? | no information |
Reasons for Membership: | Children were recruited as militia members, but there is no information on why members joined the group. |
PGM Members Killed? | no information |
Size: | The Group of Fighters for the Liberation of Cote d'Ivoire was reported to have 2,000 members, while the Southwestern militias as a whole were reported to have 20,000 members. |
Weapons and Training: | The southwestern militia received training and operated as part of the military. |
Organisation: | The Southwestern militia consisted of multiple groups that operated in the Southwest of Côte d’Ivoire such as the Front for the Liberation of the Greater West, AP-WE, the Greater West Resistance Union, the Movement for the Liberation of Western Cote d'Ivoire and the LIMA Force, Group of Patriots for Peace, Group of Fighters for the Liberation of Cote d'Ivoire, the Anti-Terrorist Forces, MI-24 and the Rapid Intervention Force. The militias were integrated into the regular army forces. |