I Coast head 'thwarting peace'
2005-04-12 10:51
Abidjan - Ivory Coast's rebel New Forces (FN) movement on Monday accused President Laurent Gbagbo of seeking "to torpedo the national reconciliation process" and recruiting mercenaries with the ink scarcely dry on a latest peace pact.
The rebels said that while they "are committed to implementing this accord" mediated in Pretoria last week by South African President Thabo Mbeki, Gbagbo was out to undermine the deal and was allegedly recruiting Liberian mercenaries to back his side in a country divided since September.
On April 6, five Ivorian leaders including Gbagbo and the main rebel chief, pledged to put the West African country on the path to peace through disarmament, resolving a dispute over the eligibility of presidential candidates and providing for rebels' return to a unity government.
The FN, based in the central town of Bouake and grouping rebel forces who have held half the country since a failed coup bid turned into civil war in 2002, said they were ready for the much-hailed end to hostilities, dismantling of militias and resumption of a disarmament process.
Presence of foreign fighters
"Unfortunately, coinciding reports coming in from the intelligence services of the New Forces indicate that Mr Laurent Gbagbo continues to work at destabilising the New Forces by turning for support to foreign fighters," the statement said.
"Indeed, Mr Laurent Gbagbo is recruiting 3 000 Liberian mercenaries including child soldiers" and using a former rebel who has gone into opposition to the FN's current leadership to "infiltrate" territory under rebel control and prepare attacks in the west, bordering on Liberia.
Gbagbo's deputy chief of staff Ottro Zirignon-Toure denounced the statements as "lies, serious and dangerous allegations following the pact..." signed last week.
The accusations against Gbagbo were levelled ahead of a meeting planned on Thursday in Bouake between the government armed forces' general staff and the rebels to discuss the details of resuming a stalled disarmament process.
The rival sides initially agreed to a ceasefire in the Linas-Marcoussis accords, signed in a town south of Paris in January 2003, and followed up by other pacts, while the truce lines have for years been patrolled by French troops and by west African soldiers now operating under a UN mandate.
The man the FN statement identified as a turncoat was "his ally, Master-Sergeant Ibrahim Coulibaly known as IB", now reported by rebel sources to be channelling armed supporters into Ivory Coast for an attack on the town of Man, close to the border with Liberia and Guinea.
Guinea's army last week announced the arrest of 17 fighters, including a "white mercenary", who were allegedly paid by Coulibaly in his struggle against the current FN leaders.