Ivory Coast: Rebels lay out peace proposals in letter to UN chief

In a letter sent to UN chief Kofi Annan on Wednesday, Cote d’Ivoire’s rebels say it should fall to them, not President Laurent Gbagbo, to select a new prime minister to steer the war-torn country towards delayed elections. “In a few days time, when [Gbabgo] is no longer an elected president … the New Forces should have the right to select the new Prime Minister,” wrote New Forces rebel leader Guillaume Soro in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by IRIN. The letter comes on the eve of crucial talks on Cote d’Ivoire by the United Nations Security Council in New York.