AU donates US $100,000 for peace talks

The African Union (AU) has approved a donation of US $100,000 from its Peace Fund to support the facilitation of talks between Cote d'Ivoire's government and insurgents in the Togolese capital, Lome. The donation was approved last week and announced in a news release from the AU on Wednesday. The negotiations, which began on 30 October, are being mediated by Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema assisted by former President of Sao Tome and Principe Miguel Trovoada, who is the Special Envoy of AU Interim Chairperson Amara Essy. According to news organisations, the talks have made little progress this week. On Thursday, mediators were reportedly working on a new plan to end the Cote d'Ivoire crisis. "The mediators will examine both documents and submit their proposals to both sides," Reuters quoted a senior member of the mediating team as saying. The Ivorian crisis began on 19 September when army mutineers staged an attack in Abidjan, where they were beaten back, and the hinterland towns of Bouake and Korhogo. They later spread to other parts of northern and central Cote d'Ivoire. A truce signed on 17 October has been in place with French troops maintaining a buffer zone between the government troops and the insurgents. A regional force is to take over from the French by the end of the month to continue monitoring the ceasefire.