Ivory Coast finding reconstruction easier than reconciliation

At first glance, Ivory Coast has come a long way since 2010's post-election violence. But is the progress merely an illusion?

Construction sites loom at every twist and turn of the super six-lane highways that weave around the Ébrié lagoon in the heart of Abidjan. Roads are being widened. New apartment blocks and shopping malls are joining 1970s skyscrapers on the skyline. And the final touches on a shiny new high-rise tower signal the African Development Bank's return after more than a decade.

Two years after the post-election conflict, when more than 3,000 people were killed, Ivory Coast's economy is bouncing back. With the country relieved of nearly $8bn (£5bn) in debt after reaching

(The inside of a cocoa pod.  Ivory Coast is the world's biggest exporter)

completion point of the heavily indebted poor countries initiative, investors are returning and GDP climbed to 9.8% last year.

"The recovery has been very impressive," said Marcelo Giugale, the World Bank's head of economic policy and poverty reduction in Africa, on a recent visit. "Not just economically speaking, but institutionally."

But amid the praise of the government's economic success under President Alassane Ouattara, the former deputy head of the International Monetary Fund, there are accusations of "victor's justice!, continued human rights violations and revenge attacks.

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