West African heads of state are set to open a summit Tuesday in Ghana to discuss the conflict in the Ivory Coast.
Ghanaian President John Kufuor will host the meeting with Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and their counterparts from Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Benin.
Today’s summit had been previewed as an attempt to end a deadlock between Ivory Coast government and rebels who pulled out of a national unity government in September. But Ghanaian officials told the Reuters news agency the rebels will not be attending the one day summit. They say the meeting will now focus on the impact of Ivory Coast’s civil war on regional security.
Ivory Coast’s rebels accuse President Gbagbo of preventing the implementation of a January peace accord, which includes giving voting rights to many northern Ivorians.
The civil war, which began 13 months ago, has split Ivory Coast into a rebel-controlled north and government-controlled south. French and West African peacekeepers remain deployed along the line that separates loyalist troops from the insurgents.
In a statement Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the Ivorian factions have failed to share power and begin restructuring the armed forces, despite the provisions of the January accord. He urged the parties to cooperate, saying there is a serious chance the situation could deteriorate if the current stalemate persists.
Mr. Annan also called for a six-month extension of the U.N. mission in Ivory Coast.
Source: GhanaWeb
