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Rebels boycotted a second meeting designed to forge a coalition government, casting doubt on prospects that Ivory Coast will end six months of civil war.

Rebels stayed away from the first meeting last week, accusing President Laurent Gbagbo of flouting a French-brokered peace deal that calls for a power-sharing government.

Gbagbo went ahead with the second meeting anyway, saying in an opening speech that "those who are dragging their feet" should get involved.

The rebels claim Gbagbo is hoarding leadership functions that the pact says he should turn over to new Prime Minister Seydou Diarra, who is charged with building the new government.

Rebels hold eight of the new cabinet's 41 posts. They have haggled with the president over control of the powerful defense and interior ministries.

A 1999 coup in Ivory Coast shattered decades of prosperity and calm in the West African nation. Since then the country has been plagued by political and economic instability.

The government says fighting has killed more than 3,000 people and displaced more than 1 million.

photo credit and caption:

Government troops leave peace talks after providing security in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, Thursday March 20, 2003. The reconciliation government held its second cabinet meeting on Thursday in Yamoussoukro, but rebels shunned the meeting, raising questions about whether the peace deal that arranged the new government will hold. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)

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