About 80 Senior military officers from ECOWAS countries, 13 of them Ghanaians, will be flown by a French plane to Cote d'Ivoire on Friday, January 3 to prepare for the arrival of ECOWAS troops on 10 January.

Ghana, Togo, Senegal, Benin and Niger are to contribute a total of 1,200 soldiers to help monitor the cease-fire between the Ivorian government and the rebels that had been brokered by ECOWAS in Togo.

There are already in Cote d'Ivoire, 2,500 French troops who are monitoring the fragile ceasefire before the arrival of the ECOWAS troops. Jean Michel Berrit, French Ambassador in Ghana, told the press on board N/V Foudre on Thursday at the Tema port that the French government would, on Friday, sign a financial support agreement with the Executive Secretary of ECOWAS to release $3.5m.

In addition France is also offering one battalion that would be moved from Senegal to the Cote d'Ivoire to support the ECOWAS troops. The British government has agreed to offer assistance in terms of equipment to the Ghanaian troops who would be sent to the Cote d'Ivoire.

Berrit said assistance was being offered to enable ECOWAS find a political solution to the crisis in that country. He said the French troops have been in constant touch with the rebels but not to negotiate with them, adding ''it is ECOWAS contact group, which has the mandate to do such negotiations.''

''Ours is to facilitate the monitoring of the cease-fire on behalf of ECOWAS. Where ECOWAS makes a request for France to come in to help in the negotiations a meeting can be arranged.''

Captain Christian Canova, commander of the N/V Foudre, told journalists that the vessel brought in 500 troops and equipment to Cote d'Ivoire to beef up the French troops who are monitoring the ceasefire.

He said after discharging the troops and equipment, on 28 December 2002, a decision was taken that the 200-member crew including 13 officers, who spent their Christmas on sea should be sent to Ghana since they could not land in Abidjan because of the curfew.