Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Ivory Coast insurgency leaders pull out of peace negotiations Rebels want security to be guaranteed BY EBOW GODWIN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LOME, TOGO — The leaders of a seven-week insurgency that has left hundreds dead in Ivory Coast withdrew from peace talks Saturday in response to the slay ing of a rebel leader’s brother in government-held territory. Rebel leader Guillaume Soro accused the government of fos tering a “reign of terror” and said the insurgents would return to the talks only if President Laurent Gbagbo pledged to guar antee security in the country. A government response was not im mediately available. The announcement raised the specter of renewed fighting in a country that was the most pros perous and stable in West Africa until a 1999 coup. But a West African mediator, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, said the rebels’ withdrawal would not affect the 3-week-old cease-fire be ing monitored by French troops. “The cease-fire holds and it is our expectation that both sides will continue to respect it,” he told The Associated Press, adding that rebels and government dele gates were committed to staying in Lome. There have been signs that both sides are preparing for an all-out war even as Togo r . President Gnassingbe Eyadema i and other West African nations 1 mediate peace efforts. 1 Ivory Coast, a former French f colony, is the world’s largest co- S coa producer, has one of the re gion’s largest ports, and is a long- s time base of multinational corpo- t rations in West Africa. t The rebels said this week they t have two Alpha fighter jets ready 1 for action, at their central Ivory Coast stronghold of Bouake. t A presidential spokesman, I Toussaint Alain, claimed Friday t that rebels had received more ( weapons, including rocket-pro- l pelled grenades, this week. Western military sources have a said the army acquired three Mi- s 24 assault helicopters, like those ( sed by Russia in Afghanistan, .ngolan BMP1 and BMP2 tanks ave also been seen in Abidjan, here have also been uncon rmed reports of arrivals of outh African mercenaries. Soro said the rebels decided to uspend their participation in the dks until Gbagbo “stops the ex rajudicial killings and the sys jmatic elimination of political saders in Ivory Coast.” The announcement came after re brother of rebel leader Louis lacoury-Tabley’s was found shot d death on a roadside in Ivory oast’s commercial capital, .bidjan, on Friday. The peace talks between rebels nd government delegates had tailed over rebel demands that Ibagbo step down to clear the way for elections in six months while the government insists that the insurgents lay down their arms. Gbagbo’s government has promised to open an inquiry into the killing of Benoit Dacoury-Tabley. Soro left open the possibility that the rebels would reopen talks. “We are prepared to re turn to the talks when President Gbagbo shows a sincere and honest commitment to seek a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Ivory Coast,” he said. Rebels, including a core group of 800 recently dismissed soldiers, tried to take power in a coup on Sept. 19. They were driven out of Abidjan, but have since seized the northern half of the country, basing themselves in the central city of Bouake and in northern Korhogo. The rebels say they are fight ing to protect the rights of pre dominantly Muslim northern Ivorians, who'complain of dis crimination and harassment by the Christian and animist southern tribes that tradition ally have dominated the gov ernment. Pilot CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 coroner said. “He basically veered away from the homes,” Watts said. “There’s no question that he flew into the tree line when he crashed.” The plane came down only about 75 feet from some homes, none of which sus tained damage, Watts said. No one else was injured, he said. “He certainly averted a much larger disaster,” Watts said. The Celebrate Freedom Festival started Friday and concluded Sunday. The pro gram also included military vehicles, a living history en campment, a World War II Army field hospital and flight simulators. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigat ing. An autopsy was planned Monday morning, Watts said. Habitat CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 free labor for those who need ade quate shelter, and give them a de cent place to live. Many students across campus have been involved in Habitat for Humanity before coming to col lege. Margaret Harritt, a second year mechanical engineering stu dent, remembers working for Habitat for Humanity when she was in high school. Harritt, from Sumter, never thought she could do some of the construction work the project required until she be came involved with the group. “Through my involvement with Habitat for Humanity, I began to value what I have so much more. Seeing the looks on the residents’ faces when the project is complet ed makes all the labor and hours worthwhile,” Harritt said. Sean McLeod, a second-year print journalism student, was in volved with Habitat in a different way. This past summer, he began to do behind-the-scenes work, such as delivering materials. “I’ve enjoyed my time with Habitat,” McLeod said. “It’s amaz ing the amount of work so many volunteers put out for the benefit of people they don’t even know.” USC’s Habitat for Humanity holds interest meetings at various places across campus once a month. Interested students can also attend a Steering Committee meeting every Sunday at 7 p.m. in the SEC room on the second floor of the Russell House. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Resolution CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 talk shows in Washington. Arab foreign ministers, includ ing Sabri, worked into the evening on a final communique that de manded Iraq and the United Nations work together and called on the United States to commit to pledges Syria said it was given that the resolution would not be used to justify military action. The Arab ministers “called on the permanent Security Council members who presented Syria with assurances to commit to what they presented, that the res olution is not used as an excuse to wage war on Iraq and does not constitute automatic military ac tion,” the statement said. The Arab League document did not specify how many Arab ex perts it wants on inspection teams or say which countries they should represent. However, Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is an Egyptian, and would be on the ad vance team of inspectors headed to Iraq if Saddam accepts the res olution. ElBaradei’s agency is in charge of looking for clandestine nuclear arms programs. A spokesman for the U.N. in spection operation said a list of in spectors and their country of ori gin was not immediately available. The Arab League document also demanded “the continuation of U.N.-Iraq cooperation to solve all standing issues peacefully in preparation for the lifting of sanc tions and the end of the (U.N.) em bargo as well as the suffering of the Iraqi people.” It put forward a united Arab position of “absolute rejection” of any military action against Iraq, saying it represents a threat to the security of all Arab nations. In addition, it called on the Security Council to require Israel to rid itself of weapons of mass de struction because they “constitute a serious threat to Arab and in ternational peace and security.” Arab foreign ministers have said they fully expect Iraq to ac cept the U.N. resolution. Rice dismissed the prospect of Saddam seeking parliament’s ad vice as “ludicrous.” “Saddam Hussein is an abso lute dictator and tyrant, and the idea that somehow he expects the Iraqi parliament to debate this - they’ve never debated anything else,” Rice said Sunday on the ABC network’s “This Week” pro gram. “I’m surprised he’s even bothering to go through this ploy. ” Iraq’s parliament is stacked with Saddam’s allies. Should par liament recommend acceptance to the Revolutionary Command Council, led by Saddam, he would have some cover for retreating from previous objections to any new language in a resolution gov erning weapons inspections. In brief remarks to journalists on Sunday, Sabri said only that the Arab position is firm in rejecting any United States use of military force. He said Saturday that “no decision has been taken” by Baghdad on cooperating with the resolution. But if Saddam fails to follow through, U.S. officials have said a Pentagon plan calls for more than 200,000 troops to invade Iraq. Britain sent similar signals, with Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon telling Sky News on Sunday that his country is prepared for possible military action against Iraq should diplomatic efforts to disarm Saddam fail. Earlier Sunday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said he expected a positive re sponse from Iraq, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal also indicated Iraq would agree to the resolution. Sniper CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Malvo and John Allen Muhammad, 41, are charged with carrying out the shooting spree over a three-week period in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. They are also ac cused of shootings in Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana. In all, the pair have been ac cused of shooting 19 people, killing 13 of them. Two other shootings are under investiga tion. Efforts to reach Robert F. Horan Jr., the Fairfax County prosecutor charged by Attorney General John Ashcroft with pros ecuting the teenager, were not suc cessful Saturday night. Calls to his home and office were not an swered. According to the Post, Malvo told investigators the shootings were well planned and involved scouting missions — and that he and his partner behaved like sol diers, one serving as a lookout and the other as the shooter. The pair used two-way radios to communicate, the paper re ported, and if traffic or other con ditions weren’t acceptable, they would not shoot. Sources said Malvo also said the pair moved around to create confusion, and watched news coverage of their crimes. Malvo was chatty and even boastful during the interview, sources told the Post, but refused to talk about Muhammad — or to even mention his name, instead using the term “we.” Muhammad, 41, who is facing capital murder charges for the murder of a man as he pumped gas at a Manassas gas station, refused police efforts to interview him in Prince William County, remain ing silent for hours and refusing to give his name to a booking clerk. The Post said the sources spoke on the condition they not be iden tified, and that they declined to discuss other shootings that Malvo allegedly described in his interview. Michael S. Arif, appointed to head Malvo’s defense team, has said he will work to suppress any statements Malvo made during his session with federal and local of ficials. “If in fact those are the state ments Mr. Malvo made, there will be a motion to suppress those statements, as certain as the sun rises in the east,” Arif told the Post. Malvo and Arif met for 21/2 hours Saturday, the lawyer told the Post. A phone message left at Arifs Springfield office was not immediately returned Saturday night. Todd G. Petit, Malvo’s appoint ed guardian, said he went to police headquarters at 6 p.m. Thursday and asked that questioning be halted. Petit said Friday a police commander agreed to pass on his request, then ordered him to leave the building. The lawyer appointed to repre sent Muhammad, Peter D. Greenspun, said the interrogation of Malvo was part of a plot to give authorities several hours of ac cess. “All of this was... orchestrated so that they would get them to Virginia late in the afternoon when they couldn’t get to court,” he said. “When little Johnny gets pulled out of school and the police ques tion him about something every body is outraged ... but they for get about that when it’s Mr. Malvo.” The One course You’ll Always Find Time For I I We’ll help you every step of the way. 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