French forces reach north

An advance party of 20 French peacekeeping troops has reached the northern towns of Korhogo and Ferkessedougou as the force starts to deploy more widely in the rebel-held north of Cote d'Ivoire, a French military spokesman said on Monday. The reconnaissance team would hold talks with rebel military commanders to map out the deployment of more French soldiers across northern Cote d’Ivoire, Colonel Philippe Aubeton, told IRIN. “They will have contacts with the New Forces in Korhogo and Ferkessedougou with a view to deploying several companies there, with, of course, the agreement of the New Forces”, Aubeton said. The rebels who have occupied the northern half of Cote d'Ivoire since the West African country plunged into civil war 15 months ago, are officially known as "The New Forces.” Most of the 4,000-strong French peacekeeping force has so far been deployed along the frontline that divides the country in half, maintaining a ceasefire that has held firm for the past eight months. However last month the government and rebel armies agreed a series of confidence-building measures, including the withdrawal of their heavy artillery from the frontline and the removal of dozens of road blocks on main roads. This has reduced tension, allowing the peacekeepers to redeploy some of their troops elsewhere. Aubeton said the French advance party reached Korhogo, 634 km north of Abidjan, on 1 January, one day after French Defense Minister Michele Aillot-Marie announced that French soldiers would fan out more widely in the north. Humanitarian agencies should be among the first to benefit from the new French deployment, since the far north of Cote d'Ivoire, like the far west, has seen frequent clashes between rival rebel factions. It has therefore been regarded a dangerous zone for relief workers to operate in. “I admit that we haven’t had serious problems, but this deployment of neutral forces will bring security to the minds of humanitarians and assurance to the population”, an official of the UN World Food Programme in Korhogo told IRIN by telephone on Monday. According to Alain Rouy, a liaison officer with the French peacekeeping force, the French soldiers will help to rehabilitate schools, health centres and other public buildings in the north in addition to maintaining security there. The French peacekeepers are assisted by a 1,400-strong West African peacekeeping force. The government and rebels are both keen for this to be absorbed into a much larger UN peacekeeping force that would oversee a process of disarmament that has been agreed in principle. The UN Security Council is due to consider proposals for sending a UN peacekeeping force to Cote d'Ivoire later this month.