NEW YORK, Ivory Coast, July 26 (UPI) -- The U.N. Operation in Ivory Coast issued a state of alert following an attack by unidentified gunmen on two towns north of the commercial capital of Abidjan.
The U.N. mission said Monday it will dispatch military units to the area from its 6,500 peacekeeping forces to help restore calm.
Gunmen attacked the Anyama police and police station Saturday, moving on to occupy the town of Agboville, 70 miles north of Abidjan. Ivorian Security and Defense Forces said they had regained control of Agboville Sunday.
UNOCI said Monday it "strongly condemns this attack which could jeopardize the important progress made in the peace process, and calls on all parties to refrain from any action which could further contribute to a deterioration of an already worrying situation."
U.N. humanitarian agencies are preparing an assessment mission to the towns affected by the attack.
UNOCI told the Security Council, in its most recent report, the situation was deteriorating in areas of water, health and education. In rural areas, only 40 percent of the population has access to wells, while 30 percent of the urban population does not have access to clean drinking water.
The U.N. Security Council established UNOCI in February 2004 to prevent hostilities following a cease-fire between the National Armed Forces of Ivory Coast and rebel Forces Nouvelles, following a 2002 coup attempt to oust Ivory Coast President, Laurent Gbagbo. A peace accord was initiated with the French government in 2003 but failed to be implemented.
A second peace agreement, the Pretoria Agreement on the Peace Process in Ivory Coast, was signed April 6, 2005, moderated by South African President Thabo Mbeki, and included an end to all hostilities and an end to the war throughout the country. All parties also agreed to immediately disarm and dismantle militias and armed groups.
Disarmament and demobilization was scheduled to begin from June 27 through to Aug. 10, and elections were scheduled for Oct. 30. Peace talks have been in deadlock since April over timetable failures following disagreements over voter registration and disarmament agreements.
On April 26, Gbagbo announced his emergency powers not be limited to presidential eligibility but the production of voters' lists and voter registration cards through the National Institute of Statistics. Opposition parties questioned the neutrality of the body, and Gbagbo's extending the use his emergency powers beyond the ruling in the Pretoria Agreement.
Forces Nouvelles Secretary-General Guillaume Soro said they would not disarm until the government militias put down their arms and guarantees of security during the disarmament be provided. According to UNOCI, organized and armed militias are becoming a security risk and threat to the peace process. Four of the main pro-government militias handed over weapons May 25 under the supervision of Ivorian National Armed Forces, but several militia members expressed reluctance to disarm in the absence of adequate guarantees of their future. Forces Nouvelles have citied reports that many militia members have gone into hiding with their weapons and ammunition.
In June, Gbagbo put parts of the Ivory Coast under military law claiming heightened security was needed in the months up to the election and following ethnic clashes. Ethnic tensions have been occurring in different parts of the Ivory Coast over refusals to disarm and Gbagbo's resistance to change nationality laws which would give citizenship to many refugees resident in the country for many years.
The country is divided north-south by the demilitarized Zone of Confidence, established in 2003 following the coup attempt, separating the southern government from the Forces Nouvelles in the north.
Some 6,500 U.N. peacekeepers and 4,000 French troops patrol the demilitarized zone from the border of Liberia to western border of Ghana, a distance 750 miles long and 62 miles wide.
Ivory Coast is largest producer of cocoa, providing 43 percent of the world's supply.
According to a cocoa report by Spectrum Commodities, a company that provides information for hedge and brokerage services, "the cocoa market is sensitive to developments in West Africa and particularly the Ivory Coast ... in the past when there have been social and ethnic problems in the Ivory Coast, cocoa prices have reacted by staging strong rallies..."
The country was politically stable for 33 years under the leadership of Felix Houphouet-Boigny following independence from France in 1960. Since 1999 the country has experienced five coup attempts following government corruption and mismanagement.
