Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast have agreed on a new system for monitoring their common border and crossing points for road and railway traffic, as well as intensifying border patrols. The armies of both countries, as well as French and West African peacekeepers, would take up these duties by June 30.

The border points had officially been closed since the war started in September 2002. The reopening of the trade route to Burkina Faso should also help the neighboring landlocked Mali and Niger, which have relied on the port of Abidjan to handle much of their external trade. All three countries want to clear tens of thousands of tons of goods stuck on Adibjan's warehouses for the past eight months. - Adam Geibel