France has said it would closely monitor the implementation of a peace accord in its former colony of Ivory Coast as rebels voiced discontent with the president's muted endorsement of the deal.
"France will follow with vigilance the application of the agreement," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement, after President Laurent Gbagbo said the French-brokered deal was a good start and urged his people to accept its spirit.
In the rebel-held town of Seguela in the north of the West African state, rank and file rebel fighters were angered by Gbagbo's speech on Friday, which they said rejected the deal.
However Guillaume Soro, secretary general of the main Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast (MPCI) rebel faction, said he needed more time to respond before giving an official line.
The deal was struck in Marcoussis outside Paris last month but it drew anger from many Gbagbo supporters who said it gave too much to rebels fighting in the world's top cocoa producer.
Violent anti-French protests erupted in the main city of Abidjan after details of the deal were leaked, and French businesses and schools were looted and burned. Thousands of foreigners have left.
The country's premier financial institution, the African Development Bank, said today it was activating its emergency plan to transfer staff out of the once stable nation.