France 'neutral' in I Coast

2004-11-29 08:44

Paris - French defence minister Michele Alliot-Marie said on Sunday that France has remained "totally neutral" in the Ivory Coast crisis and dismissed threats that a complaint against Paris would be filed with an international court.

Speaking on LCI television, Alliot-Marie said that French peacekeepers were in Ivory Coast "so that the military solution is eliminated".

She reiterated that the African Union "asked specifically that French soldiers stay ... for a certain time more".

She brushed aside reports that the Ivory Coast government, or families of some of those killed, planned to file a complaint against France with the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The Ivorian government "has made great efforts at communication and, in many cases, at disinformation", she said.

"I ... don't see this materialising," she added.

Faced risk of a 'real massacre'

Officials close to Ivory Coast's ruling party said on Sunday lawyers representing families of some of those killed in Ivory Coast were filing a complaint against the French military.

There also were unconfirmed reports that the state was doing so.

Nine French peacekeepers were killed earlier this month in an air attack in the rebel-held city of Bouake, in the north. France responded by smashing the country's small air force. Shots were later fired in Abidjan; France maintains soldiers acted to control a manipulated and armed crowd.

Anti-French sentiment that followed led to the evacuation of thousands of Westerners from the former colony.

Alliot-Marie said there were "undoubtedly a few victims" but she added that there was the risk of a "real massacre" if the situation was not contained.

- AP