Military

DATE=3/24/05

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IVORY COAST / UN (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-323483

BYLINE=JOE BAVIER

DATELINE=ABIDJAN

CONTENT=

/// EDS: Q WITH JOE BAVIER FOLLOWS ///

VOICED AT:

HEADLINE: Ivory Coast Warring Sides React To Annan's Warnings

INTRO: Representatives for warring parties in Ivory Coast agree with calls by United Nations' Secretary General Kofi Annan for more peacekeepers. Mr. Annan has warned of an increasingly dangerous security situation because of militia activity. Joe Bavier reports for VOA from the commercial capital, Abidjan.

TEXT: Secretary-General Kofi Annan is asking for an additional 12 hundred peacekeepers to reinforce an overstretched contingent of around six thousand U.N. troops already on the ground in divided Ivory Coast.

The troop boost, Mr. Annan says, is essential to stopping what, in his words, is a very real danger of a return to war following attacks on villages in the rebel-held west by militias loyal to President Laurent Gbagbo.

A spokesman for the United Nations mission in Ivory Coast, Hamadoun Toure, says the United Nations will not tolerate groups set on undermining Ivory Coast's fragile cease-fire.

/// TOURE ACT ///

"The heads of the militia will be held responsible for their actions. I can't anticipate now and tell you what would be the fate of the heads of the militia groups. But I can tell you that the U.N. takes it very seriously, and they'll be held responsible for any acts conducted by the militias."

/// END ACT ///

A spokesman from the rebel New Forces, which occupy the northern half of the country, Cisse Sindou, says he is happy the United Nations recognizes the militias as a problem. But, he says, to him there is one man who should be held responsible.

/// SINDOU ACT ///

"No doubt. The support is coming from Laurent Gbagbo. The arms are coming from him. The money that (maintains) them is coming from him. The paramilitary training. This is government formed militias. And I'm glad that the secretary-general of the U.N. is starting to understand that."

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Gbagbo has denied any involvement, saying the militias are groups formed spontaneously by Ivorians wanting to force rebels to disarm.

U.N. troops are in Ivory Coast to patrol a cease-fire line that runs through the middle of the country. They are also mandated to enforce an embargo on arms sales.

Mr. Annan's call for an increased U.N. presence comes as the French government is considering whether to extend the mandate of its own five-thousand-troop-strong peacekeeping mission, which expires in April. Mr. Annan said the French force, which has a mandate to assist U.N. peacekeepers, is indispensable to continued peace in Ivory Coast.

Thousands protested both for and against the French military last week, with supporters of President Gbagbo calling upon them to leave and northern residents asking them to stay.

Gbagbo supporter, Patricia Hamza says she is in favor of reinforcing U.N. troop numbers. But she says it's time for the French to leave the country.

/// HAMZA ACT ///

"I think now between Cote d'Ivoire people and French troops, we have no trust. And if French troops will be in Cote d'Ivoire, I think that the war will be coming quickly."

/// END ACT ///

The discussions about peacekeepers come as South African mediators are trying to bring together all parties for a new round of talks. These have been delayed as Mr. Gbagbo held funeral services for his father in his home village this week. A rebel spokesman told VOA New Forces leader, Guillaume Soro, who has boycotted recent mediation efforts, plans to attend the talks in South Africa. (SIGNED)

SUGGESTED Q: Would more U.N. troops be the answer to the crisis in Ivory Coast?

A: More U.N. troops could certainly help in the short term. But as far as sustained peace goes, the events of the next few weeks will be crucial. French peacekeepers still haven't renewed their mandate which expires in April. Pro-government militias remain extremely active across the south. And it remains to be seen who, in fact, will accept the south african invitation to a new round of peace talks.

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