Ivory Coast announced
it would reopen its border with eastern neighbour Ghana on Monday, more than
two weeks after it was closed over a series of deadly attacks which Ivorian
officials said were launched from Ghanaian territory.
The Ivorian government
blamed the raids, which targeted police and army installations in the
commercial capital Abidjan and a border town on Sept. 20 and 21, on supporters
of former president Laurent Gbagbo currently living in exile in Ghana.
Ivorian Defence
Minister Paul Koffi Koffi said in a statement broadcast on state television
late on Sunday that both countries had reinforced security along the border
"with the aim of stopping all incursions".
"As a result
President Alassane Ouattara decided that from Monday October 8, 2012 at seven
in the morning the land and sea borders will reopen," he said.
Though Ivory Coast
reopened its airspace to flights from Ghana on Sept. 23, the closure has
blocked the main transportation route along the Gulf of Guinea, stretching from
Ivory Coast to Nigeria.
Ghana has promised to
help investigate the attacks, which further worsened relations already strained
by Accra's refusal to act on international arrest warrants targeting former
members of Gbagbo's regime issued by Ivory Coast last year.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s
foreign minister Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni has welcomed the reopen of the border
which he described as a step in right direction which will affirm the dedication
and commitment the two countries shares from time immemorial. He further said
Ghana will do all it can by collaborating with their Ivorian counterparts to
avert such unfortunate incident in future. It must be recalled that the
president of Ghana John Dramani Mahama in his speech before the United Nation
General Assembly in New York said Ghana will not allow its territories to be use to destabilize other countries
which the minister said Ghana still stand by that.
Gbagbo's refusal to
accept defeat in a 2010 election won by Ouattara sparked a brief war last year
that killed over 3,000 people. He is currently awaiting trial before the
International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity
which analyst believe is what the basis for these clashes is.
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