Posted on 10/31/2002 6:40:15 AM PST by HAL9000
ABIDJAN, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast angrily denied on Thursday that it had hired dozens of South African mercenaries to help the government fight rebels who hold half the territory of the world's largest cocoa producer.In a strongly worded statement, President Laurent Gbagbo's adviser in Paris, Toussaint Alain, said "absolutely no credit should be given to reports that South African mercenaries are in Ivory Coast".
"These fantasy allegations, obligingly peddled by a Western military source and armed rebels, are aimed at torpedoing peace negotiations in Lome," the statement said.
Reports that the mercenaries had arrived in Abidjan came as rebels met a government team in Togo for peace talks to end the conflict, which stems from a failed September 19 coup and left hundreds dead before a truce 13 days ago.
Foreign military sources told Reuters on Wednesday a first group of 40 mercenaries had come to ensure the president's security and another group of about 160 was expected, possibly for "bigger operations".
Another source said the plan was put together by a French national, but relied mostly on South African manpower and was backed by Russian-built helicopters including Mi-8s for transport and at least one Mi-24 "Hind" gunship.
On Wednesday, Alain had told Reuters he could neither confirm nor deny the arrival of South African mercenaries in Ivory Coast.
In his statement on Thursday, Alain said: "The support of foreign fighters is not necessary for loyalist forces to deal with the attempt to destabilise power and for them to regain control of besieged cities."
Alain said the rumours shifted attention from what he called a "massive recruitment" by rebels of mercenaries from other countries in the region, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Those pro-rebel forces were "a band of thugs" being trained by French, Burkinabe and North African instructors, he said.
Regional security sources say African mercenaries from a dozen years of savage civil war in neighbouring countries were beefing up the rebel Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast.
Among the dozens of pro-government mercenaries, foreign military sources said, were veterans of the disbanded Executive Outcomes, a South African group whose paid soldiers scored victories against rebel forces in Angola and Sierra Leone in the mid-1990s.
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