Ivorian foes battle on the pitch

By James Copnall
BBC correspondent in Yamoussoukro

The match took place in the shadow of the famous Yamoussoukro cathedral

After two years of swapping insults - and occasional bullets - Ivory Coast's former warring factions have instead battled it out on the football pitch.

A team representing the loyalist army won 5-0 against the former rebels, who hold the north of the country.

One of the 4,000 French peacekeepers in the country, refereed the match in the capital, Yamoussoukro.

The peace process is tantalizingly close to breakthrough and disarmament is scheduled to begin on 15 October.

On-pitch pasting

Refreshingly, given recent Ivorian history, excited supporters of Fanci, the loyalist army, were not cheering a military triumph against the New Forces, as the former rebels are known.

Now today we are here to make peace Meite New Forces team player

It was their side's 5-0 defeat of their former enemies that had the soldiers singing.

More remarkable even than the on-pitch pasting was the evident joy of soldiers able to meet after years of being on opposite sides of the front line.

The head of the Ivorian army, General Mattias Doue, explained why the former enemy troops were able to smile at one another.

"They are soldiers who have known each other for 20 years. So despite the situation in the country at the moment, which we regard as an accident of history, they have not forgotten they are still brothers. It is an example we really need today," he told me.

'Good day'

The game shows how far the country's peace process has come.

The New Forces soldiers simply wouldn't have dared to venture into government-held territory a few months ago. But on Tuesday they even came to the stadium with some supporters.

French Colonel Alexander Monart, who organised the match, was pleased with the spirit of togetherness expressed in the stadium by opposing sides and fans.

"I think it's a good day," he said.

One person delighted with the day, despite his side's heavy loss, was Meite. He played for the New Forces team, and then left the pitch arm-in arm-with one of the army players.

Back in the coastal city of Abidjan, before the civil war, Meite coached several of the Fanci players and was president of their team.

"Today we are here to make peace. So that's why I called him at the end - to chat. I told him once he gets home he should call me, and I will talk to him and his family. No problem," Meite says.

Warning

Colonel Soumaila Bakayoko, military commander of the New Forces, said he was happy to watch the match - in supposedly hostile territory - even if his team was thumped.

"The atmosphere was tremendous, very friendly. The children of this country met again, in joy, to have fun. I am very happy about this," he said.

The match allowed old friends to meet up once again

But he was cautious when asked if disarmament would really begin on 15 October, as scheduled.

"The next step is a natural disarmament... But it is a process. The act of disarming will be the major part of a series of events that must happen."

In other words, the New Forces' colonel says the former rebels will only disarm if other conditions are met.

The sentiment is not new and it shows that despite the bonhomie of Tuesday's football match, Ivory Coast is not at peace yet.