Thank you for the ongoing update brother Mo. This is a very possibly volatile situation and I just hope that teh government of President Gkagbo will stop playing games and sign this cesae-fire before he finds that those trying to make peace have given up on him, and which in turn will just lead to total chaos. Jabou Joh n a message dated 10/12/2002 9:23:47 PM , [log in to unmask] writes: > ABIDJAN, Oct 12 (AFP) - Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo came under > mounting pressure Saturday to accept a ceasefire as rebels who have battled > his government for the past three weeks, held talks with regional > mediators. > The African Union (AU) called late Friday for an immediate ceasefire in > the west African nation and expressed its concern over the "serious > humanitarian consequences" of the crisis. > The AU's Central Organ for Conflict Prevention, Management and > Resolution -- akin to the UN's Security Council -- called in a statement > for "an immediate ceasefire", saying it "expresses its support for the > efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to end > the hostilities and create conditions conducive to resolving the crisis." > Nigeria's junior foreign minister, Dubem Onyia, said Friday that the > Ivory Coast government has no choice but to back the ECOWAS peace plan and > angrily accused Gbagbo's government of "playing games" with mediators. > "He has no option," Onyia told reporters. "The only other option is to > go to war, which would do nobody any good." > And, referring to an abortive mediation mission by ECOWAS mediators last > week, he said: "Before we went there the government had made no contact > with the rebels. They didn't even know who they are or where they are. > "Because we were able to feel their pulse and were able to identify them > and made contact with them the government used it to plan an attack on > them. > All the time the government was playing games with us." > The mediators drew up a ceasefire plan, but the government delayed > signing it three times, and on Sunday Gbagbo -- who had promised the > mediators the government would sign it -- declared he would sign a truce > only after the rebels had laid down their arms. > Onyia told Nigeria's Guardian newspaper Saturday that his government had > started evacuating its citizens from Ivory Coast, a few days after it > withdrew three fighter jets it had earlier sent to the troubled country. > They had been on standby in Abidjan to support any west African > peacekeeping force, envisaged as a buffer to keep the two sides apart > rather than backing up the government army. > Niger's parliament voted Friday to contribute 250 soldiers to any force, > and Benin announced on October 3 that it was ready to contribute 300 > troops. > Onyia said 500 Nigerians had already been brought back home, the > Guardian reported. > The Ivorian presidency declared last weekend that the "war of > occupation" was "orchestrated and financed" by external and internal forces > and backed by "neighbouring countries", and the 4.5 million west African > immigrants in Ivory Coast fear for their lives after hate-attacks. > Hundreds of their shacks have been burnt down in Abidjan shantytowns, > and more than 4,000 Burkina Faso nationals have been chased out of their > homes in the central-western cocoa-growing region. > Several other west African countries have also drawn up plans to > evacuate nationals, and the United States has urged all its citizens -- > close to 3,000 -- to leave Ivory Coast immediately. > Onyia, who was part of ECOWAS mediation team that met the Ivorian rebel > soldiers last weekend in the central city of Bouake, their headquarters, > described the insurgents as "disciplined and well-kitted soldiers". > The rebels "want a united Cote d'Ivoire", he added, using the French > name of the country. > "They sure have people behind them," said the minister who did not give > further details. > ECOWAS secretary general Mohamed Ibn Chambas was expected Saturday in > Ivory Coast to try to restart talks with the government. > Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheik Tidiane Gadio, whose country heads the > 15-nation ECOWAS, was meeting separately with the army mutineers in Bouake, > and was understood to be carrying a new ceasefire proposal. > Rebel spokesman Tuho Fozie said late Friday that his group would meet > Gadio "out of politeness first, then to see what happens at the meeting, > what he wants to propose to us to seek a settlement of the crisis." > The rebellion broke out September 19 when army mutineers and soldiers > who returned from exile staged an uprising. They have since succeeded in > winning control over the north and center of Ivory Coast. > The United States has warned of a possible "meltdown" in Ivory Coast, > while the United Nations' World Food Program (WFP) said it feared "a large- > scale humanitarian crisis" could ripple through the region. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~