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UN Official to Meet Deposed Ivory Coast President

United Nations Operation in Ivory Coast (UNOCI) deputy human rights director Guillaume Ngefa gives a press conference in Abidjan ( March 2011 file photo)

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Last updated on: August 04, 2011 8:00 PM

A senior United Nations official says he will meet with former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo for an update on his treatment in detention.

U.N. officials say the acting human rights chief for the world body in the Ivory Coast, Guillaume Ngefa, is heading to Korhogo, where Gbagbo is detained.

Ngefa has already met with the former president's wife and members of his government. He says his office plans to meet with the detained officials and report on their condition every two weeks.

Ngefa says the way former regime officials are treated impacts how the Ivory Coast moves toward reconciliation.

Gbagbo was arrested in April after refusing to leave office.

Violence erupted after he lost November elections to President Alassane Ouattara.

More than 3,000 were killed during the subsequent power struggle that lasted several months.

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