Lagos, Nigeria - The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will hold a mini-summit at its headquarters in Nigeria's capital city of Abuja 19 August to discuss the security challenges facing Cote d'Ivoire, which is recovering from a serious political crisis triggered by November's election.

ECOWAS sources told PANA here Sunday that the one-day summit would be attended by the leaders of Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal and Nigeria, which holds the rotational chairmanship of the 15-member bloc.

Nigeria's President and current ECOWAS Chairman Goodluck Jonathan said, after holding bilateral talks with visiting Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in Abuja last Monday, that the regional body recognised the security challenges in the aftermath of the post-election crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, and assured the Ivorian leader of its (ECOWAS) support in efforts
to stabilise the country.

Former President Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to accept defeat in last November's presidential rerun triggered the violence that left at least 3,000 people dead, until he was forcefully removed 11 April.

But the fallout of the crisis persist. In a report it released on 28 July, Amnesty International said Ivorian security forces and a state-backed militia were creating a climate of fear that is preventing hundreds of thousands of people displaced by post-election violence from returning to their homes.

'The stalemate that is keeping more than half a million people from their homes cannot be allowed to continue,' said Gaetan Mootoo, Amnesty International's West Africa researcher.
'The authorities must act to establish a clear chain of command and disband militia groups who, despite the end of the conflict, continue to spread fear among the population.'

Pana 07/08/2011