The head of the United Nations' sanctions committee on Ivory Coast arrived here Tuesday to assess Ivory Coast's troubled peace process, a U.N. official said, according to AP. A communique issued late Monday by the U.N. mission said Greek diplomat Adamantios Vassilakis was expected to hold talks with Ivorian President Laurent Gbabgo, former president Henri Konan Bedie, foreign diplomats in Abidjan and also rebels in their northern stronghold of Bouake. Meetings with other key figures in Ivory Coast's conflict were also scheduled. Ivory Coast plunged into civil war after a failed coup in September 2002. The U.N. Security Council has imposed an embargo on arms exports to Ivory Coast and can also activate at any time a system of sanctions against Ivorians deemed an obstacle to peace. Last month, Gbagbo called off elections set for Oct. 30 because of a continued standoff between the government and rebels who control the country's north. The rebels say conditions are not right for elections, but reject Gbagbo's claim that the constitution allows him to remain in power after Oct. 30. There are currently about 6,000 U.N. peacekeepers and 4,000 French troops separating the rebels and Ivory Coast loyalist forces.
