Rebels have taken control of the northern half of the country. This is where most of the cocoa growing goes on (40 percent of the world total), and disruption of this has led to a jump in cocoa prices worldwide. ECOWAS plans to send 2,000 peacekeepers in the next two weeks, but the rebels fear that the government is hiring South African mercenaries to fight them first.  The disruption of the cocoa trade is catastrophic for the Moslem north, whose anger with the Christian south over economic issues brought about the current crises in the first place.