Ivory Coast army patrols stepped up in Abidjan

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's army deployed troops onto the streets of Abidjan on Tuesday in what it said was a step intended to discourage any attempt to undermine security in the world's top cocoa grower.

A Reuters witness said troops were present at strategic points of the port city, including main road junctions and outside the building of the state broadcaster.

"This is a dissuasive patrol," said a senior army officer who requested anonymity. "We are keeping our forces on alert, that's all."

Authorities are due to announce shortly a new date for a long-delayed presidential election. The latest target date for the poll was November 29 but officials acknowledged this month that preparations had slipped and a postponement was inevitable.

The eligibility of around one million voters has still not been clarified, a simmering dispute which harks back to the divisive issue of nationality which was at the root of the West African country's 2002-2003 civil war and subsequent crisis.

Some 2,000 soldiers last week carried out searches in the Banco forest surrounding Abidjan, known as a spot favoured by militants for arms caches. There has been no indication that anything was found.

Observers and analysts see early 2010 as a possible new date for the election. Rivals of incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo accuse him of manipulating the timing of the poll to maximise his chances of winning, an accusation he rejects.