African leaders trying to defuse the latest Cote d'Ivoire crisis on Sunday urged both sides of the conflict to carry out peace deals and said they supported a proposed UN resolution to impose an arms embargo on the troubled west African country.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who convened an emergency meeting in Abuja in his capacity as African Union (AU) chairman, read a statement: "We believe that the Marcoussis, France (signed in January 2003) and Accra (signed in Ghana in July this year) agreements are the only basis for the restoration of peace in Cote d'Ivoire."

"We urge all parties in the conflict to observe a ceasefire and we also fully support the UN resolution on Cote d'Ivoire, especially in respect of arms embargo," Obasanjo went on.

"All sides are trying to acquire more offensive weapons and we call on the international community to stop arms into the country in the next 12 months."

The UN Security Council is due to vote Monday on the resolution, which threatens to impose an arms embargo and other sanctions on Cote d'Ivoire if its government and rebels fail to implement peace deals by Dec. 10.

The resolution was initially introduced by France after Cote d'Ivoire's warplanes bombed last week rebel sites and a French camp in the rebel-held northern part, leaving nine French peacekeepers and one American relief worker dead.

France retaliated by destroying Cote d'Ivoire's tiny air force. The reprisal sparked turmoil and violence against French and other foreigners in the country's commercial city of Abidjan.

The presidents of Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Senegal and Togo attended Sunday's meeting in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Also in attendance are representatives from embattled Cote d'Ivoire, Libya and AU Commission Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare.

The Nigerian president also sent an invitation to South African President Thabo Mbeki and Cote d'Ivoire's Laurent Gbagbo. Both of them were absent but Mbeki, who was mandated by the AU to help mediate a political solution to the fresh fighting in Cote d'Ivoire, delivered a report the meeting.

Obasanjo said: "Part of Mbeki's report indicated that water and electricity have been disconnected in northern Cote d'Ivoire."

He added that the AU Peace and Security Council will soon meet to access the situation noting that the AU will continue to engage all the parties in the country for peace.

Meanwhile, Mbeki Sunday held a second round of talks with Cote d'Ivoire opposition leaders in Pretoria before leaving on a four-day official visit to Europe, which were part of the consultation process the president had been engaged in since Tuesday at the request of the AU.

The civil war that has been simmering in Cote d'Ivoire, a former French colony, since an attempt in September 2002 by rebels to oust Gbagbo saw a sudden escalation in violence last week when the government planes bombed key rebel towns in the rebel-held north of the country.

(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2004)