PRELIMINARIES TO DISARMAMENT PROCESS TO BEGIN SOON

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 000526 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC KPKO EFIN IV SUBJECT: PRELIMINARIES TO DISARMAMENT PROCESS TO BEGIN SOON Classified By: Poloff Phaedra Gwyn for reasons 1.4 b&d ¶1. (SBU) The Chiefs-of-Staff of the New Forces (FAFN) and Ivoirian (FANCI) militaries agreed on May 17 to start assembling troops in preparation for a disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) program. The NF will gather troops at two sites (at Botro, in the far northeast, and Bouna, in the center) and the FANCI will assemble its troops at eleven sites in the south. According to FANCI Chief-of-Staff General Philippe Mangou's presentation at today's International Working Group (IWG) meeting, soldiers began presenting themselves for identification at the sites on May 18. Mangou said that once the soldiers are at the sites, they would not leave until the next phase of the process, disarmament, begins. ¶2. (SBU) However, FAFN Chief-of-Staff Hamed Bakayoko told the IWG that assembling of the troops is only a pilot program and that the troops will not remain there but return to their previous positions after the pilot phase is completed. Bakayoko made clear that disarmament will not begin until the government begins issuing identity cards, something which the pilot identification program that began on May 18 does not do. Both Chiefs-of-Staff are scheduled to meet May 30 in Yamoussoukro to agree on new dates for DDR, but this would presumably presuppose, given Bakayoko's remarks, agreement on identity card issuance. ¶3. (SBU) Identification of ex- combatants at the FANCI and NF sites is supposed to take six weeks. During this identification phase, both militaries will be responsible for providing the soldiers' meals and housing. A total of 75 DDR sites have been designated in the NF zone and another thirty-five in the government-controlled zone. ¶4. (SBU) Nationwide there are 45,000 soldiers to be disarmed. On the government side, they include combatants who were drafted into the FANCI after the start of the fighting. Two thousand militia members are also scheduled to be disarmed on the government side. The World Bank is supposed to finance the bulk of DDR but only once Cote d'Ivoire pays its arrears and gets out of non-accrual status with the Bank. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: The DDR process, in some ways, is an even more delicate issue than identification. If and when DDR begins, we anticipate difficulties in implementation given the command and control problems within FANCI's ranks and its lack of control over pro-Gbagbo militias.END COMMENT Hooks