Army and rebel officials in Côte d’Ivoire have agreed to begin disarming by late September, just one month before crucial October 30 presidential elections, officials said on Sunday. The two sides came to their agreement after three days of talks ended on Saturday in the capital, Yamoussoukro.
Warring factions in Côte d’Ivoire have agreed to begin a long-delayed disarmament campaign on May 14, the latest bid to stave off a resumption of hostilities in this war-divided nation. Both sides agreed on Saturday to begin pulling heavy arms away from front lines that divide the nation beginning April 21.
Ivorian leaders head to peace talks on Sunday in South Africa with rebels charging that government troops are deploying for new attacks; a human rights group accusing the government of recruiting fighters from Liberia; and the government’s feared militia demanding French peacekeepers get out.
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/ 4 November 2004
Government warplanes bombed the largest city in Côte d’Ivoire’s rebel-held north on Thursday in what a government military commander said was the launch of a new offensive to reunite the war-divided nation. The raid threatened to restart Côte d’Ivoire’s civil war, ended by a 2003 peace deal after nine months of fighting.