A United Nations report says the Ivory Coast government is trying to rebuild its air force after it was largely destroyed a year ago by French forces in retaliation for an air raid that killed nine French soldiers.
The U.N. report cited the defense ministry as saying a team of aviation experts from Belarus and Ukraine have been contracted to help rebuild the air force.
But the report says it is not clear whether the development is a breach of a U.N. arms embargo forbidding other nations from supplying military equipment, advice or training to Ivory Coast.
It has asked the U.N. Security Council to look into the matter.
A top aide to Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo dismissed the report, saying no warplanes were being repaired.
Meanwhile, the Security Council on Wednesday delayed debate on sanctioning the Ivorian government and rebels to allow more time for all sides to agree on a new prime minister.
The new post is part of an African Union plan to get rebels onboard Ivory Coast's stalled peace process.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
