Red Cross: 800 killed in Ivory Coast town

The claims by Patrick Achi, spokesman for Alassane Ouattara, could not be independently verified by CNN and came amid a backdrop of extreme violence in portions of the country, including the western cocoa-producing town of Duekoue.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said 800 people were shot to death there. A United Nations official put the death toll so far at 330.

Guillaume Ngefa, the deputy human rights director at the U.N. mission in Ivory Coast, blamed 220 of the deaths on forces loyal to Ouattara, the man recognized by the United Nations and other global powers as the rightful president. Ngefa said pro-Laurent Gbagbo forces killed 100 people.

The massacre occurred between Monday and Wednesday as Ouattara's Republican Forces led an offensive through the country to the commercial center of Abidjan, Ngefa said.

The massacre illustrated the bloody nature of Ivory Coast's conflict, now in its fifth month. The violence erupted after a disputed November election led Gbagbo and Ouattara to both claim the presidency.

The international community recognized Ouattara as the legitimate winner but Gbagbo refused to cede power and violence engulfed the nation, escalating this week with a major offensive launched by Ouattara's Republican Forces.

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