European Commission aids post-war efforts

The European Commission has allocated 30 million euros (US $33.6 million) for the Ivorian government's post-war efforts to return the West African country to peace and stability, the EU said in a statement on Thursday. The President of the European Commissioner, Romano Prodi, who met Ivorian Prime Minister Seydou Diarra on Thursday, said the funds were for a three-year Immediate Post-Crisis Rehabilitation Programme targeting health activities, socioeconomic reintegration and recovery for a million displaced people and disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of ex-combatants. Cote d'Ivoire sunk into conflict on September 2002, when disgruntled soldiers attempted to stage a coup. They were driven out of Abidjan, but retained control of northern and western Cote d'Ivoire until a peace agreement with the government in January brought the rebel leaders into government in a power sharing arrangement. The war was declared over in June. The Commission announced the aid ahead of a meeting in Paris on Friday of donor countries and Ivorian government officials to discuss how to boost financial assistance to West African and French soldiers who were deployed throughout the country at the beginning of the year to keep peace. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has said it needs US $40 million to double or triple the size of its current force of about 1,200 troops. ECOWAS hopes that US, France and Britain, who contributed most of an initial $13 million, would contribute some more to sustain the force. Meanwhile, the chiefs of staff of the Ivorian national and rebel armies have set up a committee to oversee the June joint declaration of cessation of hostilities. The CEMCAD (Comite d'etat major pour le Controle et l'Application de la Declaration du 4 juillet) was set up in the rebel strong-hold of Bouake on Wednesday. However while the Bouake meeting was meant to bring together all the signatories of the January peace agreement, the ruling party of President Laurent Gbagbo boycotted it.