Ivory Coast mediation starting

A group of West African officials are set to meet Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo on Monday as efforts begin to mediate between the government and rebel troops.

Foreign ministers and defence chiefs from Nigeria, Ghana and Togo are then expected to try to set up talks as soon as possible with the rebels who remain in control of northern and central parts of the country.

On Sunday, West African leaders agreed to send a buffer force to Ivory Coast if mediation between the government and rebel troops fails.

The mediation group is seeking to prepare the way for five West African heads of state to visit Ivory Coast to start negotiations.

If those negotiations failed, the regional bloc would send in a buffer force, Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade said, adding that up to 4,000 peacekeeping troops could be mobilised for the mission.

Fears for region

Mr Wade was speaking after an emergency Ecowas summit in Accra, Ghana, called to discuss the crisis in Ivory Coast.

Ecowas countries want to stop the rebellion from turning into a regional conflict - as was the case in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the 1990s.

Rebels will come under attack, says the government

"We have received the agreement of every (Ecowas) nation to participate in an Ecomog force," Mr Wade said, referring to the bloc's military wing.

He said Ecowas members would be expected to contribute between 150 and 750 troops each to the force.

But a spokesman for the community says that the best way to end the crisis is through "dialogue and negotiations".

The organisation's executive secretary told the BBC that Ecowas was not in contact with the rebels, but "we know people who might have dealt with them in the past" and could provide a channel to open communications.

Efforts could then be made to end the crisis peacefully.

The Ivorian Defence Minister, Moise Lida Kouassi, said earlier his government needed only ammunition and logistical support.

The rebels continue to confront government forces around the town of Tiebissou, 40 km north of the administrative capital, Yamoussoukro.

Correspondents descibe the rebels as disciplined and well armed.

Evacuation

French and American troops have evacuated more than 300 foreigners from a second town in Ivory Coast.

Helicopters brought out evacuees who had been trapped in Korhogo in the north since the uprising began 11 days ago.

The mutineers still control a string of towns in the north, as well as Bouake, Ivory Coast's second city - which was evacuated by the French at the end of last week.

The foreigners airlifted on Sunday included 100 Europeans, 40 Americans, and 200 nationals from other African countries.

They have been flown from Korhogo to the capital Yamoussoukro.

Bloodshed

The operation was carried out by French army helicopters and US transport planes.

I can assure you that we are now going to move to the fast lane ... the general offensive will start very soon

Defence Minister Moise Lida Kouassi

The BBC's Paul Welsh in Yamoussoukro says those rescued were well, as the city had been quiet for several days - but they had been bracing themselves for more trouble.

More than 1,500 other foreigners, many of them French, have been evacuated from Bouake in recent days.

Several hundred people have died in the mutiny, which began on 19 September.

Ethnic tensions

The uprising has revived ethnic and religious tensions between the mainly Christian south of the country and the Muslim north.

The government says it is preparing for a large offensive, to retake towns and cities.

But our correspondent says so far there has been little progress against the rebels on the ground.

France has already agreed to offer tactical and logistical help to its former colony.

The Ivorian authorities have said the rebels are mercenaries controlled by a foreign state - an allegation widely understood to mean its northern neighbour, Burkina Faso.