Bouake - Ivory Coast's ex-rebels called for militias loyal to their former foe President Laurent Gbagbo to be disarmed, a statement on their website said on Monday.

The rebel New Forces have controlled half of the territory of the world's top cocoa grower since a 2002-3 war that began with a failed coup attempt against Gbagbo.

Under a deal signed in Burkina Faso in 2007, their leader Guillaume Soro became prime minister of a transitional government.

That agreement also laid out steps for disarming rebels and pro-government militias. The New Forces say all rebels have been disarmed apart from 8,000 security forces who they say will help keep the peace in long delayed polls expected this year.

Some of militiamen loyal to Gbagbo have had their weapons taken away, but others remain active.

Political tensions are rising in Ivory Coast as the country looks set to miss yet another deadline for elections meant to smooth a way out of its more than 7-year crisis. The polls, originally scheduled for 2005, were set for the end of this month.