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Representatives of Cote d'Ivoire's army and rebels Saturday ended their five-day talks in the capital Yamoussoukro with no date set for the start of the long-overdue disarmament process.
Army chief Colonel Philippe Mangou said the parties would meet again on Friday to address unsettled issues. Other sources said the two sides have major differences on issues such as the reforming of the army and the disarmament date.
But Alain Richard Donwahi, head of the national disarmament committee, played down the lack of a disarmament date, saying 90 percent of the work has been done and that a timetable would be presented to military chiefs from both sides on Friday for approval.
Cote d'Ivoire, the world's leading cocoa producer, has been split between the north, held by the rebels, and the south, under the control of government forces, since a coup attempt against President Laurent Gbagbo failed in September 2002.
A peace deal was signed in January 2003 but never fully implemented. The accord signed in South Africa in April, which is meant to end civil war and pave the way for presidential elections in the country, has raised hopes for a breakthrough in the war.
At talks in April, the army and rebels agreed to end hostility and study a proposal from the national disarmament committee to start disarmament on May 14. The two sides said then they would set a date for disarmament at the Yamoussoukro meeting.
(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2005)
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