UN urged to boost Liberia-Cote D'Ivoire border monitoring

The United Nations and ECOWAS have been urged to step up the monitoring of the Liberia-Cote D'Ivoire border.

Leaders from the West African region made this call recently after talks between Cote D'Ivoire, President Alassane Ouattara and leaders of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three countries that make up the Mano River Union.

"We have asked ECOWAS and UN to help us monitor the borders and to provide a combat helicopter for the various areas in the forest," Ouattara told reporters after talks in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

Porous border

In a joint communique, the four leaders said insecurity on the porous Liberian-Cote D'Ivoire border was a threat for the entire West African region.

The United Nations said in May that it was concerned by the return of mercenaries to Liberia and had reinforced its local forces to patrol the long 700 km (400 mile) long border between the two countries, which is mostly dense rainforest.

Liberian mercenaries were allegedly hired by supporters of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo during the four-month post-election conflict which ended with Gbagbo's capture and arrest in April.

Constitutional referendum

Liberia is recovering from 14 years of intermittent civil war itself and plans to hold a constitutional referendum and presidential elections by the end of the year.

Last month it said it had seized a cache of arms and ammunitions including assault rifles and rocket launchers in a town near its border with Cote D'Ivoire.

It said it was investigating 92 people after the haul.

Ivorian refugees

Several thousand Ivorian refugees remain on the Liberian side of the border.

Some say they are too scared to return to their homes in western Cote D'Ivoire, which saw an outbreak of inter-ethnic violence as rebel troops loyal to Ouattara advanced from their northern stronghold on the main city, Abidjan.

REUTERS/Shakira/Williams