Loyalist Troops of Cote d'Ivoire Counterattack on Rebels

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, October 15, 2002

Loyalist Troops of Cote d'Ivoire Counterattack on Rebels

Loyalist troops of Cote d'Ivoire on Monday launched a counterattack on the rebels from the southern outskirts of the country's key cocoa town of Daloa a day after it fell into the rebels' hand.

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Loyalist troops of Cote d'Ivoire on Monday launched a counterattack on the rebels from the southern outskirts of the country's key cocoa town of Daloa a day after it fell into the rebels' hand.

Residents of the western town said fierce fighting between the government troops and the rebel forces resumed again as the sound of heavy weapons was coming from the south.

Residents said they also heard sustained bursts of gunfire as the convoy of rebel troops rushed on the streets, apparently reinforcing their colleagues to fight the loyalist troops on the front lines.

Rebels of the Patriotic Movement of Cote d'Ivoire Sunday captured the city in Cote d'Ivoire's cocoa belt, dealing a heavy blow to the government.

Daloa is situated 400 km northwest of Abidjan. The region around Daloa produces around 25 percent of cocoa in Cote d'Ivoire, which is the world's biggest cocoa producer.

Cocoa prices on the international markets hit almost 17-year highs on Monday because of the impact of the current crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, which accounts for almost 40 percent of global supply. The cost of cocoa has skyrocketed by 12 percent since the fighting began on 19 September.

The rebels, who are holding about half of the country, now control three of the country's four biggest cities, namely Bouake in the center, Daloa in the west and Korhogo in the north.

The Sunday's takeover came as west African mediators met with President Laurent Gbagbo and flew north for talks with rebel leaders.

Efforts to reach a peace deal to end the rebellion in Cote d'Ivoire are set to continue on Monday with further talks expected between mediators and rebel leaders.

Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheick Tidiane Gadio told journalists he had reached a "verbal understanding" with both government and rebel representatives, which he said could open theway to a ceasefire, a peace plan and negotiations.

Gadio, who held talks with rebel representatives in Bouake on Saturday and Sunday, said he hopes a time and place for a signing ceremony can be finalized by the end of Monday.

The minister was dispatched by Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, also currently chairman of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Meanwhile ECOWAS Executive Secretary Mohamed Ibn Chambas held aparallel meeting with President Gbagbo in Abidjan on Sunday.

At the end of the meeting, President Gbagbo insisted that he was open to dialogue and would sign a ceasefire but only after the rebels disarmed.

A diplomatic mission launched by the ECOWAS collapsed earlier last week after Gbagbo refused to agree to a ceasefire.

There has been growing pressure on Gbagbo's government to agree a truce, from within the region and from western powers. All are nervous that the bloody unrest in Cote d'Ivoire could be degraded into a full-scale civil war and spread to other countries in west Africa.

A mediator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said west African states were prepared to intervene militarily if the insurgents ousted Gbagbo's government.

"If the rebels overthrow the government, it's finished. We have the duty to use force," he said. "We have to find a good compromise that will permit both sides to save face and create the conditions for dialogue."

The rebellion, which broke out on 19 September, has claimed hundreds of lives and plunged Cote d'Ivoire into its worst crisis since its independence from France in 1960.

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