Mbeki to mediate in Ivory Coast
10 November 2004
President Thabo Mbeki flew to the Ivory Coast on Tuesday to help find a solution to the political unrest in the country.
The decision to involve Mbeki in the low-intensity war in the Ivory Coast was made on Saturday at a meeting in Nigeria between the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).
Mbeki was accompanied by Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad.
"President Mbeki had consultations with the leadership of Ecowas over the weekend", Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said.
"South Africa remains committed to working closely with the AU, Ecowas and the leadership of the Ivory Coast with a view to assisting its people to develop political solutions to their current challenges."
In a statement released on Sunday, AU Commission chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare condemned attacks by Ivory Coast government forces on various locations in the
rebel-held north of the country, including those that hit the French forces.
Nine French soldiers and an American aid consultant were killed in bombing attacks on Saturday. French troops destroyed the Ivory Coast air force fleet in retaliation.
Konare stressed the need for a political solution to the conflict, and urged the government and the rebels to commit to negotiating a solution.
The Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer and West Africa's former economic powerhouse, has been split into a rebel-held north and government-controlled south since a September 2002 coup attempt launched the country into civil war.
A peace deal signed in 2003, brokered by former colonial ruler France and other Western countries, ended major fighting until the government broke the ceasefire last week.
Source: Department of Foreign Affairs
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