ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) - West African ministers agreed Saturday to send 2,000 troops to Ivory Coast to replace French soldiers monitoring a week-old truce that has halted fighting between government and rebel forces in this former French colony. The conflict erupted with the attempted coup by a group of about 800 soldiers. Hundreds were killed in the fighting and thousands have fled their homes. Rebels have taken positions in the countries northern half. Both sides signed a cease-fire last week and agreed to talk.
Mohammed Ibn Chambas, secretary-general of the Economic Community of West African States, also said that a meeting was expected early next week between the government and rebels, who have seized half the country since launching a failed coup attempt on September 19. "The first meeting will be outside the Ivory Coast," he said, speaking after a meeting of West African ministers in Ivory Cast's commercial capital Abidjan. He gave no further details.
More than 1,000 French troops are deployed along a line that cuts through the center of the country. Rebels are based in Bouake, Ivory Coast's second largest city, and in Korhogo, a northern opposition stronghold. Chambas said the West African force would start replacing the French troops in around two weeks.
Nine countries have pledged troops in Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Togo and Senegal. Chambas said the military commander of the regional force would come from Senegal, as it was expected to provide the largest contingent of troops. Chambas will meet with the West African grouping's partners United States, Germany, France, Canada, the Netherlands and Britain on Sunday to discuss financing for the regional force.
Regional leaders, desperate to prevent the conflict from destabilizing the volatile region, have been mediating between the warring parties in what was long the region's economic powerhouse. This country is the world's largest cocoa producer. Even if both sides have agreed on a place to talk, the discussions promise’s to be difficult.
Ivory Coast Foreign Minister Abou Drahamane Sangare told the meeting the government would insist that rebels be disarmed and confined to specific barracks and that the government ultimately regain control of the entire country.
The rebels say they are fighting to protect the rights of northern Ivorians, many of whom complain of discrimination and harassment by the southern mainly Christian and animist tribes, who traditionally have dominated the government. The insurgents say President Laurent Gbagbo must resign. They also want the release of political and military prisoners and the reinstatement of dismissed soldiers.
