The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to tighten its arms embargo on the Ivory Coast in hopes of averting civil war between the forces of President Laurent Gbagbo and rebels controlling the north of the country.
The vote came after two postponements during which U.N. and African officials pushed the government and the rebels to honor a 2003 peace agreement.
The French-sponsored resolution authorizes U.N. and French peacekeepers to inspect cargo shipments at ports, airports, border crossings and military bases without advance notice. The resolution also calls on the government and the rebels to help the peacekeepers collect and dispose of arms.
France's U.N. ambassador Jean Marc de la Sabliere says the resolution's aim is to keep the conflict from expanding.
"The arms embargo gives the guarantee that there will be no military solution and that, as the African Union has asked the Council, the only solution will be a political one," he said.
About 10,000 peacekeepers monitor a buffer zone set up by the 2003 peace accord to separate the two sides.
The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to tighten its arms embargo on the Ivory Coast in hopes of averting civil war between the forces of President Laurent Gbagbo and rebels controlling the north of the country.
The vote came after two postponements during which U.N. and African officials pushed the government and the rebels to honor a 2003 peace agreement.
The French-sponsored resolution authorizes U.N. and French peacekeepers to inspect cargo shipments at ports, airports, border crossings and military bases without advance notice. The resolution also calls on the government and the rebels to help the peacekeepers collect and dispose of arms.
France's U.N. ambassador Jean Marc de la Sabliere says the resolution's aim is to keep the conflict from expanding.
"The arms embargo gives the guarantee that there will be no military solution and that, as the African Union has asked the Council, the only solution will be a political one," he said.
About 10,000 peacekeepers monitor a buffer zone set up by the 2003 peace accord to separate the two sides.
