Ivory Coast steps up war effort

The rebels say they are ready to resume fighting

The authorities in Ivory Coast expect men aged 20-26 to turn up at military barracks on Tuesday - in a huge recruitment effort aimed at fighting new rebel movements.

The move comes as a truce and peace talks with the main rebel group are under threat.

The rebels have threatened to walk out of the talks in Togo, following the discovery of a mass grave which they say government forces are responsible for.

Both sides have accused each other of preparing to resume fighting.

The BBC's Paul Welsh in Ivory Coast says all the ingredients are now present for a full-scale war.

The government wants 3,000 volunteers to bolster its forces fighting two new rebel groups that have emerged in the past two weeks in the west of the country.

But our correspondent says the recruitment drive is making the main rebel group, the Ivory Coast Patriotic Movement (MPCI), nervous.

Last chance

The MPCI - which holds the northern half of the country - says President Laurent Gbagbo is preparing for all-out war.

Each side blames the other for the "massacre"

It says the peace talks finished at midnight because the Economic Community of West African States, which is behind the talks, have not publicly condemned what the rebels call a massacre of civilians.

Last week the French army - which has been monitoring the ceasefire - found a mass grave in the village of Monoko-Zohi, near Daloa.

Fellow villagers say 120 of their relatives were killed by government troops.

The government denies any responsibility, saying the rebels are to blame - the village is in rebel-held territory.

The MPCI says that before leaving the talks it will hold discussions with the chief mediator, Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema.

Our correspondent says that meeting means there is a chance the talks can be rescued.

On Monday, President Gbagbo and Mr Eyadema held talks - but did not reveal what they discussed.

Regional fears

The Ivory Coast Government at the weekend called on young men to volunteer for the army in what it called a mobilisation against the almost three-month-long rebellion.

Gbagbo and Eyadema met on Monday

The announcement came amid reports that rebel factions had advanced eastwards from the Liberian border.

The MPCI too has been recruiting in recent weeks and its presence in Bouake, the rebels' stronghold, is said to have swelled considerably.

Ivory Coast used to be West Africa's richest country but, 11 weeks after an army mutiny, some diplomats fear it could descend into the anarchy and massive blood-letting of civil wars in neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone.

At least 400 people have been killed since the 19 September uprising by disgruntled soldiers, and hundreds of thousands displaced by the fighting.