Côte d’Ivoire: International Criminal Court may initiate probe into alleged crimes

The office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said it may open investigations into the 'widespread and systematic' killings in Côte d’Ivoire, including the reported mass murder of civilians, saying it is gathering information on alleged crimes by all parties to the conflict. 'The OTP [office of the prosecutor] has been conducting a preliminary examination in Ivory Coast and the next step will be for the Prosecutor to use his independent...power to request authorization from the pre-trial chamber in order to initiate an investigation,' the ICC said in a statement.