Minister of African Integration and Spokesperson of the Government Amadou Kone of Cote d'Ivoire

Kone said the rebels, who control the northern half of the West African country, believed that Gbagbo was planning an offensive that would re-ignite the almost three-year-long conflict.

Kone said it would be suicide for the rebels to disarm without solid guarantees that Gbagbo would keep his side of the peace agreement.

New Forces spokesman Amadou Kone said they were informed of the visit by Defense Minister Mosiuoa Lekota after talks Tuesday as part of South Africa's mediation efforts on behalf of the African Union to reconcile the world's top cocoa producer ahead of elections planned for October.

didn't contain any government-issue entry stamps.