Two rebel groups in western Ivory Coast are to sign a ceasefire today ahead of peace talks in Paris.
The Ivorian Popular Movement of the Far West (MPIGO) and the allied Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP), two smaller groups who have continued fighting the government despite an October truce, are to sign a ceasefire in neighboring Togo, sources said.
Mr Felix Doh of the MPIGO and MJP leader Mr Gaspard Deliwill go to Lome in the afternoon to sign the ceasefire, sources said.
Separately, Mr Doh said his group will attend French-brokered peace talks in Paris, scheduled for January 15th.
This is an apparent turnaround from yesterday, when he said MPIGO was pulling out of the talks to protest continuing attacks by government troops on towns near the Liberian border, despite a commitment by President Laurent Gbagbo to respect a ceasefire and ground its helicopter gunships.
"We were forced to announce a boycott because yesterday we were bombed" in two towns, Mr Doh said today.
The MPIGO had accused the Ivorian military of bombing another town on Thursday, killing 15 civilians and injuring an unspecified number of rebels.
Both the government and the main rebel movement, the Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast (MPCI) have pledged to former colonial ruler France, which has deployed 2,500 peacekeepers to protect foreigners in its former colony, to respect the truce.
AFP