run south and rebel-held north. United Nations peacekeepers based in Duekoue, part of an international force that helps police monitor the buffer zone dividing the country, said on Saturday calm had been restored but gave no further details. A senior Ivorian army officer said his colleagues had fired warning shots to help calm the situation. After years of sporadic fighting and failed peace deals, there have been signs of progress in efforts to end the conflict in Ivory Coast. Rebel and government forces have started pulling back heavy weapons from front lines as part of a peace deal signed in South Africa last month and have also pledged to study proposals for starting full disarmament in May. President Laurent Gbagbo has said he will allow his main opposition rival, Alassane Ouattara, to stand in elections on Oct. 30, a key demand of the rebel forces. Ouattara's exclusion from a 2000 poll because of doubts over his nationality was seen as one of the root causes of a war that has crippled one of the region's economic powerhouses and threatened to spread turmoil to fragile neighbouring states.
