Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo said today "the war is over" between his government and northern rebels, as the two sides moved to dismantle a military buffer zone and reunite the war-divided country.
"The country is being reunited, the war is over, dear friends and compatriots, the war is over," Mr Ggabgo said, as he and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, an ex-rebel leader, inspected the first joint parade of government and rebel forces held since a 2002/2003 civil war split the West African country in two.
The parade in the capital Yamoussoukro took place shortly before UN forces started pulling back from a buffer zone checkpoint at Tiebissou under a peace plan signed last month by Mr Gbagbo and Mr Soro.