Global Policy Forum

By Clar Ni Chonghaile

French troops serving in Ivory Coast are not an obstacle to peace despite protests against their presence in the war-divided former colony, the U.N. envoy to the West African nation said on Saturday.

Pierre Schori also said a new resolution on the mandate of 4,000 French and 6,000 U.N. peacekeepers, patrolling a buffer zone between civil war foes in Ivory Coast, would be passed soon by the Security Council. "I do not agree with those who say the French presence is an obstacle to peace," Schori told reporters in Senegal's capital. He said the French military operation, known as Licorne, was needed to ensure security in the world's top cocoa grower, where rebels seized the north after a failed 2002 coup. "Licorne is there with the support of the (U.N.) resolution and it will be there with the next resolution," Schori said. Many supporters of Ivory Coast's president accuse France of siding with the rebels and want its troops to leave. Tensions spiked last November and more than 8,000 mainly French nationals fled the country after fierce anti-French riots in Abidjan.

The peacekeeping mission's mandate is due to expire next Saturday. The Security Council granted a one-month extension last month to give itself time to debate troop reinforcements. The United States has previously opposed extra troops, saying a commitment to peace on both sides is more important. "A text is more or less ready in New York. What remains is (getting) a consensus on the troop reinforcements," said Schori.

He has previously said 2,000 extra troops are needed, partly to guarantee security ahead of presidential polls on Oct. 30, which were called after a peace deal was signed last month. The April peace deal was the latest accord agreed by the warring factions. Previous deals have been torpedoed by mutual distrust and sporadic outbreaks of violence. Hopes of breakthrough were boosted this month when rebels and army chiefs agreed to start disarmament on June 27. However, some rebels have since said they never agreed a start date.

Relations between France and Ivory Coast hit a new low last November when nine French soldiers were killed during a government bombing raid on a rebel town. The French army retaliated by crippling the small Ivorian air force, triggering the violent anti-French protests in the main city Abidjan. Schori said protests against the French presence were relatively minor at the moment, although he said this might change in the run-up to the election. Some pro-government supporters are already depicting the vote as a battle between President Laurent Gbagbo and France, which is perceived to support the president's main rival, opposition leader Alassane Ouattara who has said he will stand.

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