Ivory Coast army and rebels sign ceasefire

ABIDJAN (AFP) May 03, 2003
Ivory Coast armed forces and the country's rebel movements on Saturday signed a total ceasefire accord to end their seven-and-a-half-month-old civil war, a representative of the largest rebel group told AFP.

The west African country's new government of national unity, which includes ministers from the rebel groups, issued a statement on Friday saying the armed forces and the rebels had "agreed to a total cessation of hostilities and an integral ceasefire".

The ceasefire pact covers the whole of the once rich country, including the west, where neighbouring Liberia has been accused backing the rebels against the former government of President Laurent Gbagbo, a source close to the Ivorian presidency said on Friday.

It also contains a clause that provides for the disarmament of mercenaries and armed groups operating on both sides, the source said.

The signature of the ceasefire agreement could pave the way for troops from France, Ivory Coast's former colonial ruler, to deploy 900 peacekeeping soldiers in the troubled west of the country, a west African military source said on Thursday.

SPACE.WIRE