In another sign that hostilities are winding down, Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast re-opened their common border. Nearly 30 percent of Burkina Faso's population depends on cross border trade with the Ivory Coast for survival, while thousands of Burkinabe worked in Ivory Coast's cocoa and coffee plantations. At least 350,000 workers fled back to Burkina during the rebellion, following widespread harassment of "foreigners" by security personnel (particularly in Abidjan's suburban 'shanty towns'). - Adam Geibel