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Mbeki postpones visit to Cote d'Ivoire |
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07:44, July 04, 2007 |
A visit by South African President Thabo Mbeki to Cote d'Ivoire scheduled on Wednesday has been postponed after a rocket attack targeting at an aircraft carrying Cote d'Ivorian Prime Minister Guillaume Soro.
South Africa's Foreign Ministry made the announcement on Tuesday, giving no explanation on the postponement of Mbeki's tripto the western African country.
The purpose of Mbeki's visit was to attend a special "Flame of Peace" ceremony scheduled for Bouake on Wednesday, where weapons were to be burnt to symbolize the official start of disarmament throughout the strife-ridden country.
But the ceremony has been postponed by the government of Cote d' Ivoire and "accordingly President Mbeki's visit to Cote d'Ivoire has now been postponed to a later date in July this year," foreign ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said in a statement.
Mbeki, who has been actively involved in mediating the peace process in Cote d'Ivoire, would have attended the ceremony together with Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, Ghanaian PresidentJohn Kufuor, in his capacity as Chair of the African Union, and Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaor as mediators in the Ivorian peace process, Mamoepa said.
Fresh concerns over security situation in Cote d'Ivoire were raised after rockets were fired at Soro's plane at the airport in the inland city of Bouake on June 29. Four people were reportedly killed in the attack. Soro was not harmed in the incident.
A former rebel leader, Soro was appointed prime minister of thestrife-torn country in April, following a peace deal between warring factions agreed on the month before.
Source: Xinhua
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