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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

COTE D'IVOIRE: ECOWAS to hold extra-ordinary summit in Abuja

ABIDJAN, 27 May 2003 (IRIN) - The Economic Community of West African (ECOWAS) is planning an extraordinary summit in the Nigerian capital, Abuja on Wednesday to address the security situation in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, diplomatic sources in the Nigerian embassy to Cote d'Ivoire told IRIN.

The summit would also discuss the expanded UN mission to Cote d'Ivoire that was recently approved by the Security Council, the sources said. The mission is expected to supplement an ECOWAS and French peacekeeping mission already deployed in the country.

In western Cote d'Ivoire meanwhile, a 110-truck convoy, carrying French peacekeepers and equipment to the west, was slowed down by human roadblocks in the volatile town of Toulepleu on Monday. Philippe Perret, spokesman of the 4,000-strong military contingent said roads were blocked by armed men loyal to the national army.

But the spokesman of the Armed Forces of Cote d'Ivoire (FANCI), Lt-Col N'goran Aka, denied the allegations saying those who blocked the convoys were locals who wanted to express their anger at whoever they thought had been bystanders during recent massacres. The convoy continued via different routes.

A meeting on Sunday between the army, rebel forces, French and ECOWAS, at the headquarters of the rebel Patriotic Movement of Cote d'Ivoire rebel movement (MPCI) had reviewed the situation and come up with suggestions to restore peace and security in the west.

A final communique said the FANCI and rebels must disengage from several key points in the west by 1 June, in order to create a "zone of confidence", Lieutenant Marc Boulogne told IRIN. This would facilitate access for NGOs, the redeployment of state security institutions and the resumption of work by the national electrical company, he added.

It was also agreed that roadblocks be reduced to one per town and that the fighting groups name sites for possible relocation. The FANCI indicated nine possible sites, including the economic capital Abidjan, the administrative capital Yamoussoukro and the port city of San Pedro.

Disarmament and creating military sites has been a major bone of contention in efforts to bring peace to Cote d'Ivoire. Earlier in the conflict which started with a failed coup on 19 September, the government had demanded the disarmament of all rebel forces as condition for talks. The rebels, now called "the new forces" refused to accept this.

In a related development, trade activities between neighbouring Mali and Cote d'Ivoire resumed on 21 May, following the re-opening of the common border. Five trucks, under heavy escort, left Abidjan for Mali carrying an assortment of goods which had been lying dormant at the Abidjan port.

Mali, a landlocked country, relies on the Abidjan port for its commercial activities. The border closure had forced it to reroute its activities to other West African ports. Malian president Amadou Toumani Toure, who conducted a brief visit in Abidjan at the weekend described the port as "the lung" of Mali's economy.

Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict

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