Supporters of rival Alassane Ouattara and human rights campaigners claim Gbagbo should be charged with war crimes

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Thousands of young men could be seen enlisting on Monday to fight for the incumbent president of Ivory Coast, stoking fears of an imminent civil war.

Chanting slogans such as "We will kill them now" and "The rebels will die", prospective recruits gathered at a stadium at the army headquarters in the commercial capital, Abidjan.

The show of strength underlines the growing influence of Young Patriot leader Charles Blé Goudé, who called on about 10,000 supporters at a rally on Saturday to sign up and "liberate" the country.

It could also be aimed at deterring supporters of Alassane Ouattara, the rival to president Laurent Gbagbo, who have argued that Gbagbo's support base is shrinking and cannot prop him up much longer.

Ouattara is the internationally recognised winner of last November's presidential election. Gbagbo's refusal to step down has sparked a humanitarian emergency and possible renewal of the 2002-03 civil war.

His security forces fired six mortars on a crowded marketplace in the volatile Abobo surburb of Abidjan last week, killing at least 25 people and injuring dozens more.

The attack, for which the military denied responsibility, has fuelled calls for Gbagbo to be charged with war crimes. The United Nations mission in Ivory Coast said: "Such an act, perpetrated against civilians, could constitute a crime against humanity."

Supporters of Ouattara demanded on Monday that Gbagbo should stand trial at the Hague-based international criminal court (ICC), following the example of neighbouring Liberia's former president Charles Taylor.

Sindou Cisse of the rebel New Forces, which control the country's north and backs Ouattara, said the Abobo mortar attack was "a war crime". He said: "What happened is beyond anything imaginable. It is out of order. As soon as possible, Mr Gbagbo should be trapped by the ICC. They should come and get him right now, not only for justice but to put an end to the suffering of the population."

He urged the international community to take action. "They have gone after Gaddafi but we are still waiting," he said.

Human Rights Watch said last week it believed Gbagbo and several of his close allies were now implicated in crimes against humanity as defined by the Rome statute, which created the ICC.

"The targeted killings, enforced disappearances, politically motivated rapes and persecution of west African nationals over a three-month period demonstrate a policy of systematic violence by security forces under the control of Gbagbo and militias long loyal to him," it said.

The watchdog claimed the killing of civilians by pro-Ouattara forces, at times with apparent ethnic or political motivation, could also be a crime against humanity if the slaughter became widespread or systematic.

Gbagbo's government has accused Nigeria of transporting 500 mercenaries to join the New Forces, based in the northern town of Bouaké.

The social and economic meltdown in the former west African powerhouse continued over the weekend as thousands gathered in Abidjan's main bus station, carrying suitcases full of belongings they had salvaged to head to the countryside.

Men pushed, shoved and sometimes fought to get on to packed buses, while exhausted children sat or tried to sleep on piles of luggage at the station in Adjame, the scene of fierce fighting in the past week.

Adama Diawara, a civil servant, told Reuters: "We're getting out of Abidjan. Bullets were falling on us day and night. We don't know what to do. We are so tired of this. We want the international community to come and help us."

Aicha Diabate, sitting in the station with her children, said: "Since the day before yesterday, we've been here but we only managed to get a ticket at 2am this morning."

Touts were buying all the tickets and charging double, she added, as a young man arrived at the station with his sick father in a wheelbarrow.

The UN says 435 people have been killed and another 450,000 forced from their homes since the crisis began. The Ouattara camp puts the death toll at 720.

An African Union mediation panel has given Gbagbo until Thursday to sit down with Ouattara to negotiate a transfer of power.