Chirac: Destroy their planes

2004-11-07 11:54

Abidjan - The Ivory Coast government carried out a devastating air raid on a French army camp on Saturday killing eight soldiers, prompting French President Jacques Chirac to order the destruction of all government planes involved in ceasefire violations.

French forces blew up two Ivorian warplanes on the runway in immediate retaliation for the attack, in which a US citizen was also reported killed and 23 injured.

France ordered two more companies of soldiers to buttress its 4 000-member peacekeeping force in the west African country as fighting broke out between French and Ivorian troops at Abidjan international airport, and scrambled three Mirage fighter jets from Chad to Libreville in Gabon.

Skirmishes

Skirmishing also was reported on Saturday between Ivorian government and rebel troops near Bouake, where a UN spokesperson said artillery exchanges could be heard.

France has had troops stationed in Ivory Coast since last year after helping to mediate a peace agreement following the breakout of a civil war in 2002.

However, the implementation of the pact has been fitful and the country has remained divided in two.

Chirac called Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo after the attack "to warn him against any act liable to break the ceasefire" between the government and rebel forces holding the north of the country, officials at the presidency said.

Resentment against France boiled up both in Abidjan, where demonstrators torched a French school in an up-market district, and in the rebel-held town of Man, where demonstrators attacked French troops, accusing them of supporting the government.

The slide toward renewed civil war in the former French colony after government forces bombarded rebel positions in the northern part of the country earlier in the week drew a sharp rebuke from the African Union.

The AU accused the government of going back on solemn agreements to work for national reconciliation.

Security council

The UN security council summoned an emergency meeting on Saturday after Chirac called UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

France's position was buttressed by the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, who accused Gbagbo's forces of violating peace accords.

Solana said the attack on the French peace-keepers was "inadmissable," and warned Gbagbo he was responsible for the safety of all foreigners in the country, including the 14 000 French nationals.

The future of the Ivory Coast's relationship with the EU depended on it, he said.

French defence minister Michele Alliot-Marie said there were no immediate plans to evacuate French residents.

The French Unicorn force along with 6 United Nations peacekeepers polices a "confidence zone" set up to separate the warring parties while political dialogue takes place.

Alliot-Marie earlier said that UN forces had halted a northbound column of government troops.

But the Ivorian army has denied having deployed ground forces towards the north.

- AFP