Diarra said the bulk of the peacekeeping

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo was due to unveil a peace plan on Tuesday to end war in the world's top cocoa grower as rebels who hold the north of the country prepared their own message to the nation.

Gbagbo pledged at a regional summit this month to present a solution to the crisis which has ripped apart the West African country and Western diplomats have been scrutinising his draft proposals for the past week.

Presidential spokesman Toussaint Alain told Reuters Gbagbo would present a broad outline of the plan on state

L'association apporte une aide à l'hôpital régional de Séguéla (120 lits).

Avant la crise le personnel médical comptait 30 personnes, contre 5 aujourd'hui. Les cadres médicaux originaires majoritairement

The 117 refugees, including 35 children and 45 women, said they paid 110 dollars each to a man who sent them to the port to be taken to Liberia.

Some of the refugees came from a Liberian refugee camp just outside Accra, others were fleeing the crisis in neighbouring Ivory Coast.

Lieutenant-Colonel Ange-Antoine Leccia said French forces "met this morning" with "western rebels" after the two sides clashed on Sunday.

"This meeting allowed them to clarify their position ... they had no intention of attacking us," he said.

Felix Doh, operational head of the the

An ICRC source said the Movement of Peace and Justice (MJP) insurgent group late Sunday "voluntarily" handed over the missionary and the five foreigners trapped in the rebel-held west.

They included two French nationals, two Canadians and one Lebanese, he said.

"At the demand of the two sides

ABIDJAN, Dec 29 (AFP) - Ivory Coast rebels Sunday clashed with French troops for a fourth time in little over a week in the key western town of Duekoue which leads to country's prized cocoa belt and two main ports.

Rebels from the Far West Ivory Coast People's Movement (MPIGO) "attacked a French position near the north-eastern entry to Duekoue" at around 3:40 pm (1540 GMT), Lieutenant-Colonel Ange-Antoine Leccia, spokesman for the French army in Ivory Coast said.

"The French forces responded and three (rebel) vehicles were destroyed," he said.

The passengers on board Christmas Day, sailing under the Sierra Leonean flag, were mainly women and children who were quickly taken to a nearby booth for identification, officials from the security ministry said.

Security Minister Moussa Sampil said the returnees had wanted to come home and stressed that it was not possible

"Some of them were raped, others gave birth by the roadside. Hundreds of women from northern and western