ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The top U.N. envoy in Ivory Coast Thursday visited Bouake in the rebel-held north for the first time since fresh fighting erupted two week ago.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative Albert Tevoedjre accompanied by the U.N. force commander, Gen. Abdoulaye Fall, met with Guillaume Soro, Secretary-General of the rebel Forces Nouvelles, and visited three sites that came under bombardment last week.
Tevoedjre reiterated the U.N.'s commitment to help put the peace process back on track.
Fall said U.N. military forces, which patrol the Zone of Confidence separating government and rebel forces, had fully played their role in recent days, helping with evacuation as well as observing the violation of the ceasefire.
He said they prevented ground troops from crossing the Zone, including by firing warning shots in the air.
In Abidjan, the West African country's largest city, the situation continued to gradually return to normal though it still remains tense, U.N. officials said.
