Advance team of peacekeepers arrives

An advance team of peacekeepers sent by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) arrived on Sunday in Cote d'Ivoire's commercial capital, Abidjan. The 19 soldiers are part of a proposed 1,260-strong force called the ECOWAS Military Observer Group (ECOMOG) that is to replace French troops who have been monitoring a month-old ceasefire signed by rebels who control parts of northern and central Cote d'Ivoire and accepted by the government. News organisations quoted a French army spokesman as saying the 19 officers would quickly get down to work on where to deploy. Negotiations between the insurgents, whose rebellion began on 19 September, and a delegation designated by President Laurent Gbagbo started in Lome on 30 October. However, the talks have been deadlocked over the past week. The rebels are demanding Gbagbo's resignation, a revision of the constitution and new elections while the government is demanding that the insurgents disarm. At the same time, tension has been building in Abidjan and, last week, the starting time of a curfew imposed soon after the outbreak of the rebellion was brought forward from 21:00 to 19:00 GMT/local time. On Saturday, a French envoy arrived in Lome to help resolve the deadlock, news organisations reported. Christian Duthiel de la Rochere, who was French ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire from 1993 to 1998, said he would do whatever he could for peace, according to Reuters. "We have to move quickly because the longer this goes on the more people suffer," Reuters quoted the mediator of the talks, Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema, as saying. Meanwhile, relief agencies are making all efforts to assist internally displaced persons, refugees and affected populations in various parts of the country and the region, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update on Friday. In the central town of Bouake, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the National Red Cross, the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are providing food, medical supplies and health care, water, sanitation facilities, and other items and services. Local authorities, the Catholic church, national and international NGOs, host families and UN agencies have provided assistance to thousands of people in towns along the frontline, OCHA said. It quoted French military sources as saying the previously estimated outflow of 1,000 persons per day from Bouake had now dropped to 100 per week. In Abidjan, thousands of people are now homeless as a result of the destruction of shanty-towns by the authorities, who said the measure was motivated by security considerations. Host families, religious groups, the government, UNHCR and the International Migration Organization (IOM) were sheltering some of the affected, OCHA said. A national polio immunization campaign began on 9 November in government- controlled areas and efforts were underway to reach children in rebel-held areas, OCHA added.