Global Policy Forum

By Silvia Aloisi

When the United Nations agreed in February to send 6,000 peacekeepers to Ivory Coast, both factions in the war-divided country greeted the incoming troops as saviours who would help cement a fragile peace. Now the U.N. force is mired in a political storm, with the bulk of its blue helmets still to deploy. At worst, they could face attacks and analysts say even the best-case scenario for now has them overseeing the status quo rather than building peace and reuniting the once-stable former French colony, the world's biggest cocoa producer.

Ivorian authorities are livid over last week's leak of a damning U.N. report accusing security forces and militias loyal to President Laurent Gbagbo of killing scores of civilians in a crackdown on a banned opposition rally in March. The violence was the worst in the main city Abidjan since a civil war grew out of a failed coup in September 2002.

Gbagbo's camp at first put the blame on the foreign media which published the report, yet to be officially released, but quickly accused the U.N. of helping rebels who still hold the northern half of the country to undermine the president. Analysts say the U.N. force of around 2,000 which this week should be reinforced by another 600 troops, now faces even more of an uphill struggle to put a deadlocked peace process back on track.

"They got off to a bad start. They now find themselves (perceived) as a party to the conflict rather than a neutral force," said Kojo Bedu-Addo, senior Africa analyst at Control Risks Group. "They'll have to fight their way back out of the corner before they can really start their mission," he said.

Plenty of Pressure

Even before the spat with the government, there was no shortage of pressure on the West African country's U.N. force -- which is due to gradually take over most duties from 4,000 French soldiers already on the ground. Pro-Gbagbo youth leaders who repeatedly orchestrated violent anti-French riots last year have given the peacekeepers until the end of this month to disarm the rebels or else "we will not be responsible for what happens to blue helmets".

The rebels in turn say they have no intention of laying down their guns until key points of a French-brokered peace accord -- which was meant to draw a line under the war officially declared over last July but now looks moribund -- are implemented. Opposition and rebel ministers are boycotting the power-sharing government, which is effectively paralysed.

Negotiations are stalled and the U.N. report is being used by Gbagbo's supporters and foes alike as a pretext for more intransigence. On Saturday, rebel leader Guillaume Soro said the international community should "remove" Gbagbo from power. U.N. officials say the probe into the violence, if it leads to increased international pressure, may well prompt all sides to stop, think and step back from the abyss. "In the short term it doesn't make our job any easier, but my hope is in the longer term it may actually help if people realise they have gone too far," said a senior member of the U.N. mission in the country, asking not to be named.

For the time being, though, the peacekeepers seem unlikely to be able to do much to break the impasse. Their mandate is essentially limited to monitoring a ceasefire and helping -- but not forcing -- combatants to disarm. "The U.N. cannot enforce peace nor actively disarm fighters. They can deploy across the frontline, ensure that hostilities don't resume and maintain the status quo -- that's the only realistic objective for now," said Bedu-Addo.