Militants disarming in Ivory Coast

Thousands of ex-combatants turned in weapons during a disarmament campaign in Ivory Coast, the UN peacekeeping mission announced. Hamadoun Toure, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast, said from Abidjan that former militants have handed over weapons at a steady pace since June. "To date 2,000 ex-combatants have voluntarily handed in 1,300 weapons and some 50,000 pieces of ammunition," he said. While providing few specifics, Toure said peacekeepers were following up on several reports of attempts to threaten national security. Several suspects are held in detention in areas off limits to human rights officers, he stressed. Ivory Coast was pushed to the brink of civil war following disputed presidential elections in 2010. Thousands of people were killed and countless more were displaced following the election. Human Rights Watch said nearly two dozen people have been killed in Bouake, the country's second-largest city, since legislative assembly elections in December. The UN mission in Ivory Coast had said in February that unknown gunmen fired on a convoy carrying members of the Independent Election Commission as it was transporting ballots from polling stations.