Britons now flee I coast
2004-11-13 13:34
London - An operation to rescue hundreds of Britons and other foreigners from the violence in Ivory Coast was under way on Friday, the Ministry of Defence said.
About 400 British military personnel were involved in the effort to airlift expatriates from the West African state.
Two Royal Air Force Hercules airplanes had landed in nearby Ghana carrying about 200 people to safety, a ministry spokesperson said on condition of anonymity.
He said there had been no reports of fighting involving British troops or of British civilians being hurt, and that the rescue was expected to last "days rather than weeks."
Foreigners have been warned that they are at risk if they stay in the Ivory Coast following an outbreak of violence in the main city, Abidjan, last weekend.
Anger erupted after France retaliated for the deaths of nine of its peacekeepers in the country by destroying Ivory Coast's small air force. At least 17 people have died in the ensuing turmoil, while more than a thousand have been wounded.
A relief worker who left the country on Wednesday said "incendiary" rhetoric broadcast on radio and television stations in the Ivory Coast had led to attacks on white people. John Sullivan, head of Save the Children's operations, said: "It's hard for large mobs of roaming people to distinguish between French and other white-skinned people, who seem to be the focus of attacks."
- AP