First militia fighters hand over weapons

Some 150 militiamen in western, government-controlled Cote d’Ivoire became the first armed fighters to hand over their weapons on Wednesday in a rare breakthrough in the country’s hobbling peace process. They are the first of an estimated 2,000 militia fighters to be disarmed by a 7 August deadline, part of a series of measures aimed at clearing the way for elections in October. The fighters, who turned up in a pick-up truck, were met by officials from the disarmament, demobilisation and reinsertion (DDR) programme in the western town of Guiglo. Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny and UN representatives were also present. Each militia fighter will receive a first payment of 125,000 CFA [US$ 240] of a grand total of 499,500 CFA [US $970] for handing in his weapon; the expenses of their return to their village will also be paid along with a small amount to help them re-establish themselves, Ivorian military officials confirmed. A failed coup split Cote d’Ivoire between a rebel-held north and government-controlled south in September 2002. Since then, a number of militia groups have sprung up in the south. Many of these militiamen say they took up arms to defend their towns and villages against the rebel forces. The rebels who hold the north, the New Forces, say they will not hand over their weapons until the southern-based government militiamen have handed in their guns. There is unclear exactly how many arms the militias have in their possession. At the ceremony on Wednesday, fighters handed over automatic guns and a cannon. Also on Wednesday the UN Security Council condemned a recent spate of violence in Cote d’Ivoire which left at least two people dead this week. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, earlier on Tuesday blamed leaders of the ruling Ivorian Popular Front FPI for inciting their supporters to violence over an ongoing identification programme. aa/ss/cs To read more about this week's violence in Cote d'Ivoire CLICK HERE