Ivory Coast's transport minister has resigned because of human rights abuses committed during the two-month old rebellion.

Marcel Amon Tanoh is a member of Alassane Ouattara's Rally of Republicans (RDR) party, which some government supporters accuse of involvement with the rebels.

My conscience can no longer take the atrocities, rapes, summary executions, assassinations, carried out by death squads

Marcel Amon Tanoh, Ex-transport minister

The RDR enjoys most of its support from northern Muslims, who complain of discrimination by President Laurent Gbagbo's government.

The rebels control the north, while Mr Gbagbo's forces still hold the mainly Christian south.

The two sides are separated by French forces, while peace talks make little progress in the Togolese capital, Lome.

Banned

On Monday, the RDR called on all four of its ministers to leave the government.

Mr Ouattara has been protected by the former colonial power France since the rebellion began.

Mobs of government supporters destroyed his house and have since tried to force the French to release him.

He was banned from the 2000 presidential elections on the basis that his family came from Burkina Faso but his Ivorian nationality was restored earlier this year.

Mr Tanoh told the French news agency, AFP, that he was resigning because the government "has failed to come up with an adequate response to the crisis in Ivory Coast in spite of all the initiatives I have personally proposed to the president".

"My conscience can no longer take the atrocities, rapes, summary executions, assassinations, carried out by death squads against innocent victims, in all impunity," he said.

The Ivorian Movement for Human Rights says that at least 50 people have been found murdered in government controlled Abidjan since the rebellion began.

Most of the victims were northerners, foreigners or opposition supporters.

The rebels accuse the security forces of being behind the killings but the government says it might be the work of rebels trying to tarnish the government's image.