Mbeki begins second peace mission in as many months

South African President Thabo Mbeki has arrived in Cote d'Ivoire for fresh talks to try to resolve the conflict that has crippled the world's top cocoa producer for more than two years. Thousands of Ivorians lined the streets to welcome Mbeki as he touched down in the main city Abidjan on Thursday on his second visit to the country since the latest outbreak of violence erupted in early November. He has been sent in by the African Union to try to stop Cote d'Ivoire sliding back into full-scale civil war. Following talks with President Laurent Gbagbo, Prime Minister Seydou Diarra and parliamentary opposition leaders in Abidjan on Friday and Saturday, Mbeki was due to fly to the rebel stronghold of Bouake in central Cote d'Ivoire for talks with the rebel leader Guillaume Soro. On 4 November, Gbagbo's air force shattered an 18-month ceasefire, dropping bombs on rebel strongholds in the northern half of the country in preparation for a ground offensive to reunite the divided nation by force. The offensive came to an abrupt halt after two days. Nine French peacekeepers were killed in the bombing raids and Paris knocked out the Ivorian airforce in retaliation. Days of anti-French riots followed and almost 9,000 foreigners -- most of them French -- fled what had once been the most prosperous country in West Africa. Although calm has now returned to the streets, the political deadlock that sparked the violence is ever present and that is what Mbeki is trying to break. "[He] is meeting with all political role-players to present them with a plan, a roadmap to peace," one of Mbeki's spokesmen told reporters shortly after his arrival. Security was high as Mbeki flew in. Local media reported that the South African president had brought with him his own armoured limousine as well as several military jeeps equipped with machine guns. Mbeki paid a flying visit to Abidjan on 9 November for three hours of talks with Gbagbo. This time his schedule is more comprehensive. On Friday, Mbeki was set to meet Gbagbo and then Diarra, an independent former civil servant who has struggled to lead a broad-based government of national reconciliation since April 2003. This power-sharing government was set up to implement the terms of a January 2003 peace agreement, but in reality executive power has remained firmly in the hands of Gbagbo and his Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) party. The work of Diarra's cabinet has often been paralysed for months at a time by conflicts with the president. Following a series of meetings with parliamentary leaders on Saturday, Mbeki was due to fly to Bouake on Sunday, He will round off his visit with a final round of talks with Gbagbo on Monday morning. Although Mbeki has helped broker peace deals in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, many commentators are wary about what even the democratic leader of the most powerful country on the African continent can achieve. Since the November violence erupted, the rebels have repeatedly said that Gbagbo must go before the country can truly talk about peace. They have also said that before they surrender their weapons to the 6,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in Cote d'Ivoire, a package of political reforms must be pushed through parliament. These include a measure which would open up the field for the next presidential elections and allow former prime minister Alassane Ouattara, an opposition leader who is popular in the north, to stand. Gbagbo has announced plans to bring the reform bills -- including measures to give immigrants from other West African countries and their descendents stronger rights to inherit land and take up Ivorian nationality -- back to parliament for discussion and approval by 17 December. But he continues to insist that the issue of eligibility for the presidency can only be decided by a referendum once the country is reunited. The pressure is on Mbeki to find a way out of the impasse and quickly, before the next flare-up. The UN Security Council, which has already imposed a 13-month arms embargo on Cote d'Ivoire, has warned that it will slap travel bans and asset freezes on selected individuals unless the parties keep their side of the Marcoussis agreement by 15 December. Some diplomats fear there could be a fresh outbreak of violence soon afterwards unless Mbeki manages to put Cote d'Ivoire's peace process firmly back on the rails before this looming deadline.