20 November 2008
The United Nations Mission in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) has handed so-called reinsertion kits to some 400 newly demobilized former rebels as part of the effort to resolve a crisis that first divided the West African country into a rebel-held north and Government-controlled south in 2002.
The kits, packages of work tools and some cash that UNOCI hopes will ease the return of the former combatants to regular civilian life, were handed over at a ceremony in Bouaké, the former rebel stronghold.
This is the second group of former rebels to complete the UN-backed disarmament, demobilization and reinsertion programme. Earlier this month, some 200 former fighters completed the programme in Seguela, a town near the Ivorian border with Mali.
Elections, which have recently been postponed for a third time since the signing of the north-south peace pact, are now scheduled for next year.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 UN News Service. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
