Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo has signed a law giving amnesty for crimes committed during the civil war. The amnesty, part of a recent peace deal, applies to both the New Forces rebels and the armed forces loyal to President Gbagbo. Last month human rights group Amnesty International condemned Ivory Coast's "climate of impunity" and said both sides were guilty of large-scale rape. A BBC correspondent says there will be no local prosecutions for such crimes. Any on-going prosecutions are to be dropped immediately, and prisoners convicted of crimes covered by the amnesty will be released. Economic crimes are a notable exception, as they are not covered by the amnesty. Significantly, the amnesty is backdated to September 2000. That means that crimes committed by loyalist soldiers before the war broke out will also be wiped off the slate. The amnesty law is one of a number of measures aimed at bringing the country to free and fair elections within 10 months.