The national army, the Forces républicaines de Côte dIvoire (FRCI), which emerged from the rebel forces, is in dire need of root-and-branch reform. This includes getting rid of the Zone Commanders, (com-zones) which cant be done without upsetting Soro. So far, Ouattara has tried a softly-softly approach, sending several (including the notorious Lieutenant Colonel Issiaka Ouattara, known as Wattao) to training courses in Morocco and China. The allegiance of large swathes of the army to the President is thin, especially given the slow pace of integration of former rebels into the FRCI and the explosive issue of back pay and, in the case of demobilisation, severance packages. This may involve up to 8,500 regular and irregular troops, and an uncertain sum of money. The government says it has already paid part of the US$38 million it needs to solve the issue while diplomats maintain the real figure is more than twice as high and Ivorian newspapers cling to the figure of $95 mn. africa-confidential/article/id/5949/Ouattara_looks_at_second_term
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 10:06:53 +0000
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