'Camp was attacked on purpose'
2004-11-09 15:28
Paris - French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told members of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) that Saturday's fatal attack by Ivory Coast jets on French peace-keepers was deliberate, a senior party figure said on Tuesday.
"There is no ambiguity about a supposed mistake on the part of the two Sukhoi pilots who we know were mercenaries from Belarus," said Bernard Accoyer, head of the party's group in France's National Assembly, after a meeting with Alliot-Marie.
Nine French peacekeepers were killed in the raid, prompting President Jacques Chirac to order the destruction of the Ivorian air force.