Govt planes bomb rebel camp
2004-11-04 12:04
Bouake, Ivory Coast - Government warplanes bombed a rebel military camp in Ivory Coast's insurgent-held north on Thursday, threatening a reopening of large-scale hostilities.
"We've just been bombed. The war has started again," rebel military commander Cherif Ousmane told The Associated Press.
Two warplanes launched the raid on a camp within the northern city of Bouake about sunrise, waking residents.
An AP reporter within Bouake saw the aircraft fly in low over the town. A boom followed, and a plume of black smoke rose.
There was no immediate word on casualties.
The government's military spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Jules Yao Yao, refused immediate comment, saying the government would issue a statement later.
A French military spokesperson, Colonel Henry Aussavy, confirmed the bombing, saying the target was a rebel military battalion within Bouake.
Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer and a former economic powerhouse of West Africa, has been divided into rebel-held north and government-held south since a September 2002 coup attempt launched months of civil war.
A 2003 peace deal, brokered under pressure from former colonial ruler France and others, ended major fighting.
- AP