Ivorian troops attack rebels

Thousands have fled the latest fighting in western Ivory Coast

Government troops in Ivory Coast say they have launched an attack on the rebel-held western town of Toulepleu near the Liberian border.

Four western towns were captured by two new rebel groups at the end of last week - the latest twist in a 10-week uprising which has left the country divided in two.

Since then government forces have been seeking to recapture Man and have also set their sights on Danane, also in rebel hands.

A rebel spokesman said government forces had bombarded Toulepleu with helicopter gunships, but were unable to take it.

Earlier, Mali's President Amadou Toumani Toure arrived in Lome to brief Togo's President Gnassingbe Eyadema, who has been trying to broker peace in the Ivory Coast.

This follows talks in Mali on Tuesday between Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and his Burkina Faso counterpart Blaise Campaore.

President Gbagbo has accused Burkina Faso of complicity in the uprising - a charge Burkina Faso denies.

The presidents called for the rapid deployment of a regional peacekeeping force to replace French troops in Ivory Coast.

In a joint statement, the presidents "decided to take appropriate measures as soon as possible to reinforce a cessation of hostilities", without specifying what measures were planned.

They also "firmly condemned violence and exactions against the civilian Burkinabe, Malian and Ivorian populations," the statement said.

Fighting

Late on Tuesday French forces, who are monitoring a ceasefire, completed the evacuation of civilians fleeing the clashes.

The new rebel groups back ex-military ruler Robert Guei who was killed in September

A group of 27 people, including four French people, arrived in government held Daloa after a convoy made a 12-hour journey from the town of Touba.

The French evacuated Man at the weekend.

The French troops, whose primary role is the protection of French nationals and other foreign citizens, have carried out four evacuation operations since the uprising began.

They have also been monitoring the truce between the Ivory Coast government forces and the original rebel group who seized half the country in September.

There is, though, no ceasefire between the government and the new rebel forces, and the BBC's West Africa correspondent says a counter-attack on the town of Danane, which the rebels also took last week, is expected soon.

New groups

The new rebel groups, the Movement for Justice and Peace and the Ivorian Popular Movement for the Great West say they are fighting to avenge the death of former military ruler, Robert Guei, who was killed in the first days of the rebellion in late September.

They have also suggested that they want to join forces with the main rebel group, the MPCI, which wants President Gbagbo to step down.

Liberia has denied claims that it is backing the new rebel groups, which are fighting near its border with Ivory Coast.

Although a truce between the government and the MPCI has held for six weeks, they have failed to reach a political settlement in talks in Lome.

The MPCI, which controls northern Ivory Coast accuses the government of discrimination against northerners and Muslims.

Ivory Coast used to be West Africa's richest country, but analysts fear that it could descend into the anarchy of the long civil wars in neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Warning

In another development, the United Nations human rights commissioner, Sergio Vieira de Mello, has warned both sides in the conflict that they would be brought to trial by the International Criminal Court for any serious crimes committed during the fighting.

Mr Vieira de Mello called on both sides to ensure civilians were protected and journalists were not attacked.

He also urged the media in Ivory Coast to stop spreading what he called xenophobia and hatred.