afrol News, 12 April - For five years the President of Côte d'Ivoire President, Laurent Gbagbo, has not set foot in the rebel north control of his country. Now that Mr Gbagbo had settled scores with the main rebel Forces Nouvelles (FN) whose leader, Guillaume Soro, was appointed the Prime Minister, Mr Gbagbo Wednesday told some women’s associations in Abidjan that time is ripe for him to storm the rebel held areas of Bouaké, Korhogo and Man to bury weapons of war.

The north and south Côte d'Ivoire had been split by a rebel infiltration on 19 September 2002.

President Gbagbo said he had begun to prepare the tour agenda to the north and has already asked Mr Soro to set the stage for the visit. “After this visit I will announce the timetable for the polls,” Mr Gbagbo disclosed.

Côte d'Ivoire has been moving fast to repair the damages of the war orchestrated by the rebels. After holding consultations with the people who matter in the Ivorian politics, including President Gbagbo, PM Soro finally named a government of national unity. The duty of this government, among others, is to disarm the rebels, prepare the grounds for elections within a year, thrash out identity crisis, foster reconciliation and unity among Ivorians.

With the return of peace to Côte d'Ivoire, an agreement was signed by the government and its stakeholders – the rebels, the French army and the United Nations – to eliminate the zone of confidence that divides the north and south come 16 April. After this date, the UN and French are expected to withdraw their troops from the zone. France has already withdrawn at least 500 of its 3,500 peace keepers in Côte d'Ivoire.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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