DATE=10/31/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-295954

TITLE=IVORY COAST/TALKS (S)

BYLINE=LUIS RAMIREZ

DATELINE=ABIDJAN

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The second day of peace negotiations between Ivory Coast government officials and rebels has ended, with both sides saying they have made progress toward ending the country's six-week-old insurrection. V-O-A's Luis Ramirez reports from Abidjan.

TEXT: Talks in Togo's capital, Lome, are due to spill into a third day, as delegations of the Ivory Coast government and rebels work to find common ground.

At the end of the second day of negotiations, the delegations issued a joint communiqué, saying they had agreed in principle to abstain from carrying out summary executions, revenge killings, and hiring of mercenaries.

The head of a West African team of mediators, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, said much progress has been made in the two days of talks. The discussions have been the first face-to-face contact between the government and rebels since hostilities broke out on September 19th.

Although mediators reported progress, the negotiators have yet to touch on the thorniest of issues, including the rebels' demands for Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo's resignation, and the government's calls for rebels to disarm.

The rebellion has killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands more. (Signed)

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