French, Ecowas troops in ICoast
2003-12-31 15:49
Abidjan - French and west African peacekeepers will begin in January to deploy in northern Ivory Coast, which has been in rebel hands since their failed coup bid 15 months ago sparked civil war, sources said on Wednesday.
Government and rebel forces agreed to the deployment of the joint peacekeeping troops at a meeting on Tuesday in the central town of Daoukro, French military spokesperson Georges Peillon told AFP.
In January, the peacekeepers will move into Ferkessedougou and Korhogo, on the border with Burkina Faso, considered the northern capital of the rebel movement.
Some 4 000 French troops are currently on the ground in the former French colony, patrolling a buffer zone running 640km across the centre of the west African state since a ceasefire was declared in July.
Hundreds of peacekeepers have also moved into the central rebel stronghold of Bouake, which President Laurent Gbagbo has called a "symbol" of the divided country.
Gbagbo had planned to visit Bouake before the end of the year to declare a definitive end to war in the world's top cocoa producer, but said late on Tuesday that the trip would be put off until early 2004.
"I had announced that I would go to Bouake to proclaim the official end to war and that I would go before the end of the year," he said.
"I have asked the armed forces and the rebel forces to take care in planning this trip - which they are still doing, and which is why I have not gone yet."