France ups troops in I Coast
2006-01-19 21:40
Paris - France was dispatching an extra squad of military police to Ivory Coast on Thursday as violent street protests shook the south of the country for a fourth day.
Originally, the 80 gendarmes were to have replaced another squad that was due to rotate out.
But because of the unrest, that squad's planned departure from the West African country was indefinitely suspended, the defence ministry said.
"There will be an additional squad of mobile gendarmes for the moment," ministry spokesperson Jean-Francois Bureau said.
"It is urgent that the demonstrations stop."
The extra squad was headed for Abidjan, Ivory Coast's commercial capital.
Apart from the gendarmes, France has otherwise not sent "significant reinforcements" to Ivory Coast, army spokesperson Gerard Dubois said at the regular weekly defence ministry news briefing.
The foreign ministry, meanwhile, said its diplomats were staying in "regular contact" with French citizens in Ivory Coast.
Ministry spokesperson Denis Simonneau reiterated earlier French calls for an end to violence.
France has troops in the large UN peacekeeping force in Ivory Coast, where protesters have repeatedly attacked UN installations this week.
Rebels accuse President Laurent Gbagbo of orchestrating the unrest to undermine a new transitional government.
Ivory Coast is still split between government- and rebel-held zones despite peace deals to end a 2002-2003 civil war.
On Wednesday, the French army chief of staff urged UN sanctions against Ivory Coast, saying that both sides have shown they are unwilling to resolve their disputes.
- AP