Government and rebels to discuss disarmament

The governmnent and rebels in Ivory Coast have agreed to meet on May 18 to begin discussing disarmament following the negotiation of a fresh ceasefire, a senior officer of West African peacekeeping forces in the country said on Monday. Lt Col Matthieu Bony of Benin, the chief of staff of ground forces of the multi-national force, said the two sides had agreed to meet in the rebel capital Bouake, in central Cote d'Ivoire, 380km north of the commercial capital Abidjan. He said the move was decided on Sunday at a meeting of government and rebel representatives with the French and West African peacekeeping forces in Tiebissou, a small town close to the frontline between government forces, which control the south of the country, and rebel forces which occupy the north. A spokesman for the Cote d'Ivoire army confirmed plans for the Bouake meeting. He said that the latest ceasefire, which took effect at midnight on Saturday, was holding firm throughout the country. However, Ousmane Coulibaly, the military commander of the Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP), one of three rebel factions in the north, reported clashes on Monday near Danane, close to the western border with Liberia. Advancing government forces had burned two villages, he said. The latest ceasefire, negotiated last week, was particularly aimed at ending clashes in western Cote d'Ivoire, where raiding and pillaging by undisciplined Liberian mercenaries who had previously been fighting for both sides has complicated efforts to bring peace. Cote d'Ivoire, the world's largest cocoa producer, erupted into civil war following a failed coup in September last year. The government and rebels signed a peace agreement in France in January and a government of national reconciliation, which includes nine ministers representing the rebels and civilian opposition parties, was sworn in last month. However, suspiscion between the two sides remains deep and diplomatic sources say the country is still on a knife edge. The UN special representative in Cote d'Ivoire, Albert Tevoedjre, who chairs a committee charged with monitoring implementation of the Paris Agreement, told IRIN on Monday that the signing of the latest ceasefire had reaffirmed his confidence in the peace process. The ceasefire is being policed by nearly 4,000 French troops and 1,200 soldiers from a five-nation West African forces that comprises units from Ghana, Benin, Togo, Niger and Senegal.