Adama Coulibaly, the Ivorian rebel warlord who controls Korhogo and the rebel armored battalion there, also has a not-so-secret mercenary group of 42 Liberians. What is unusual is that the Liberians are commanded by a woman in her mid-30s. She claims to have killed men in combat and nearly been killed herself in early 2003, while fighting alongside Ivorian rebel forces. She'd also claimed to have killed at least one white soldier (presumably a mercenary) during a heavy fighting for the town of Bangolo (50 kilometers south of Man) in late 2002. Under the terms of an agreement on 4 July 2003, the government and rebels both committed to getting rid of any mercenaries remaining in their ranks.
President Gbagbo postponed a promised trip to the rebel stronghold of Bouake. - Adam Geibel