temporarily resolved during another summit in Accra, organised by ECOWAS and mediated by Ghanaian President John Kufuor, and therefore intended to mitigate the appearance of French domination of the peace process. The objective of the talks was to revise the power-sharing formula outlined in the Linas-Marcoussis Accord. At Accra II, the parties re-committed to implementing the initial agreement, and, to this end, the New Forces renounced its claims on the defence and interior ministries. Instead, a fifteen-member National Security Council would be established and would agree on candidates to fill those posts. UN intervention: 3 May 2003 The parties signed a comprehensive ceasefire on 3 May, and, the same day, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1479, which established the UN Mission in Côte d'Ivoire (MINUCI, Mission des Nations unies en Côte d'Ivoire) to monitor implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis Accord. MINUCI was headed by, and would assist, Tévoédirè, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative. MINUCI arrived in Ivory Coast on 27 June 2003; initially comprising 34 officers, it was planned to expand to 76 personnel by the end of the year. Notwithstanding the ceasefire, "extreme violence" continued in the western part of the country, necessitating in late May a joint operation involving elements of both government and rebel forces, as well as French and ECOWAS peacekeepers. End of war declared: 4 July 2003 On 4 July 2003, the government and New Forces announced publicly that the civil war was over, and that they had agreed to work together to implement the peace agreement. However, the violence did not entirely dissipate. In late August, Operation Licorne suffered its first casualties when two French soldiers were killed by rebels near Sakassou. The same week, French intelligence services in Paris arrested 10 people, including Ibrahim Coulibaly, whom they said had been plotting to assassinate Gbagbo and destabilise the peace. Moreover, the political conflict raged on. The New Forces refused to begin the demobilisation and disarmament process – or to allow government administrators to return to the north of the country – until Gbagbo had made permanent appointments to the sensitive ministries of defence and the interior. Gbagbo also had not fulfilled his promise to revise electoral eligibility requirements. Progress appeared imminent by September 2003. Ivory Coast reopened its border with Burkina Faso, and the UN downgraded Ivory Coast's security rating, reflecting an improvement in conditions. On 13 September, Gbagbo finally made permanent appointments