Cote d'Ivoire: Army, rebel forces agree to 'weapon-free zone' Paris AFP (World Service) in English 1608 GMT 05 May 03 AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE Monday, May 5, 2003 Journal Code: 2131 Language: ENGLISH Record Type: FULLTEXT Document Type: Daily Report; News Word Count: 350 ABIDJAN, May 5 (AFP) - Ivory Coast's armed forces and three rebel groups in this troubled west African country have agreed to a weapon-free zone where both sides could move freely without arms, a military official said Monday. Nestor Djido, the spokesman for a west African peacekeeping force deployed to help end a ruinous war that has split the country since September said the two sides had rejected the idea of a buffer zone and opted instead for a "zone of confidence." The parameters of the zone are yet to be identified. French military peacekeepers and troops from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will be deployed in this area. The zone will be chalked out during an upcoming meeting of the belligerents on May 18 in the central city of Bouake, the headquarters of Ivory Coast's main rebel movement since September, Djido said. "The two sides are guarding their positions and are sensitising their men about the ceasefire line," he said. The army and the rebels, who are holding the north of Ivory Coast and vast swathes of the west near Liberia, have agreed that French and West African peacekeepers should be free to move throughout the country, he said. A ceasefire between Ivory Coast's armed forces and the three rebel movements came into force at midnight on Saturday. Saturday's ceasefire pact covers the whole of the country, including the west, where neighbouring Liberia has been accused of backing the rebels against the former government of President Laurent Gbagbo. It also contains a clause that provides for the disarmament of mercenaries and armed groups operating on both sides. Under the agreement, the warring parties accept the deployment from West Africa and some 900 troops from France, Ivory Coast's former colonial ruler.