UN agency hopes new Ivorian peace pact will allow 15,000 refugees to go home

The United Nations refugee agency has welcomed the latest peace pact between armed opponents in Côte d’Ivoire, which it said could allow the repatriation of 15,000 Ivorian refugees from Guinea and Liberia.

“The official declaration of the end of the war could now provide the necessary impetus for the repatriation of Ivorian refugees, if all parties abide by their commitment to peace,” said David Lambo of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Earlier this week, President Laurent Gbagbo, rebel New Forces head Guillaume Soro, former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara and former President Henri Konan Bedie declared an end to hostilities after four days of African Union-mediated talks in Pretoria, South Africa.

The Pretoria pact was to resolve the bitter conflict that started in September 2002 and has divided the country in two.

Ceasefire agreements signed in France in 2003 and in Ghana in 2004 were broken last November and again in February.