20100208

BOUAKE, Ivory Coast (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's ex-rebels called for militias loyal to their former foe President Laurent Gbagbo to be disarmed, a statement on their website said on Monday.

The rebel New Forces have controlled half of the territory of the world's top cocoa grower since a 2002-3 war that began with a failed coup attempt against Gbagbo.

Under a deal signed in Burkina Faso in 2007, their leader Guillaume Soro became prime minister of a transitional government.

That agreement also laid out steps for disarming rebels and pro-government militias. The New Forces say all rebels have been disarmed apart from 8,000 security forces who they say will help keep the peace in long delayed polls expected this year.

Some of militiamen loyal to Gbagbo have had their weapons taken away, but others remain active.

"The New Forces note that the disarmament and dismantling of militias expected by the Ouagadougou political agreement is not yet effective," the statement said.

"They invite the CCI (joint army and ex-rebel units) to show more determination and vigilance in implementing this process."

Political tensions are rising in Ivory Coast as the country looks set to miss yet another deadline for elections meant to smooth a way out of its more than 7-year crisis. The polls, originally scheduled for 2005, were set for the end of this month.

A row between the electoral commission and Gbagbo over voter registration has dug up questions about Ivorian nationality that still fester years after the country went to war over them. Last week saw riots in some cities over the latest setbacks to the peace process.

The New Forces have no candidate in the presidential election. At 36, Soro is too young to run so instead has taken a role of overseeing the electoral process -- but opposition candidates fear pro-Gbagbo militias could be used to intimidate their supporters.