Saturday, 15 February, 2003, 18:22 GMT

'Hundreds of bodies' in Ivory Coast grave

Rebels have controlled Man for the last five months

A suspected mass grave has been found in the Ivory Coast's western town of Man containing what is thought to be hundreds of bodies.

The BBC's Joan Baxter in Man says the positions of some of the bodies indicate summary executions.

The corpses are strewn across the local cemetery on the outskirts of the town, she says.

Hundreds have been killed in Ivory Coast's civil war

Some of the bodies are wrapped in plastic sacks and others are charred.

Bodies have also been found in a nearby forest but are thought to be those of people who died during recent fighting.

The rebel group the Movement for Justice and Peace which controls Man alleges the area contains the bodies of civilians massacred by government loyalists.

They say 12,000 people have been killed in Man since Ivory Coast's civil war started five months ago.

Since the beginning of hostilities, the town has only briefly been under government control but rebel leaders allege it was then that the killings took place.

'Foreign names'

Locals say the people were targeted for having foreign names.

Man is said to be extremely tense and many businesses are shut.

Rebel groups are threatening to march on Ivory Coast's commercial capital Abidjan unless President Laurent Gbagbo appoints its nominees to the cabinet.

They maintain that a peace deal signed in Paris in January promised them key ministries but President Gbagbo - who also signed the accord - insists he must have the final say on government appointments.