French Troops Deployed Along Cote d'Ivoire Frontlines

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, October 21, 2002

French Troops Deployed Along Cote d'Ivoire Frontlines

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The French troops have been deployed beginning on Sunday along the frontlines in Cote d'Ivoireto patrol a buffer zone between the government army and the rebels,a force mainly made up of mutinous soldiers who have taken controlof the north of the country in a month-long war with President Laurent Gbagbo's government.

The French soldiers "are expected to arrive there by road on Sunday," said Sergeant Zacharias Kone who leads the rebel contingent in the western Vavoua, a town under rebel control sinceOctober 7.

According to a French military spokesman, discussions were under way with both the government and the rebels in the conflict to determine exactly how the former colonial power's forces will monitor the ceasefire agreed to on Thursday.

The French forces are to patrol a buffer zone until West African peacekeepers move into place.

Last week, fierce battles were occurred in the city of Daloa with a population of 200,000, about 50 km to the south. Rebels hadcaptured for two days Daloa, a key cocoa production base in the region.

According to a statement issued Saturday by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), West African leaders will meet this week to set up a regional peacekeeping force to monitor the ceasefire between the government and rebels in the west African country.

The leaders will also consider ways to facilitate political talks between the two sides.

The rebels agreed to a ceasefire on Thursday, but they have refused to lay down their arms.

About 1,000 French troops were already in Cote d'Ivoire to protect the 20,000 French nationals and other foreigners in the country.

ECOWAS has previously deployed peacekeeping troops to Liberia and Sierra Leone, and had some success in policing the civil wars in those countries. The rebels have said what they want is to oustGbagbo, reverse an order to demobilize some 700 troops, and fight for the rights of Cote d'Ivoire's Muslim majority population who they claim have been marginalized.

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