France in trouble in the Ivory Coast

[madape]

The poor citizens of the Ivory Coast have had enough of French "incompetence" and are now set out to turn the small African country into a "quagmire". Mobs are going house to house looking for French blood. And the French military has reportedly opened fire on unarmed civilians in response.

France sent reinforcements to Ivory Coast on Sunday after a bloody and confusing weekend ended with the small Ivorian air force shattered and thousands of angry people attacking French nationals and other foreigners, sometimes pulling them from their houses or cars or chasing them onto rooftops.

The United Nations Security Council, after an emergency session Saturday, called on the government of Ivory Coast to restore calm, and France said it might seek an arms embargo. The Security Council said that French troops and the UN forces in Ivory Coast were authorized to use "all necessary means" to carry out their peacekeeping mandate.

Government troops last week shattered an 18-month truce with air strikes against rebels who hold the northern half of the country, and sending soldiers into a neutral buffer zone patrolled by about 4,000 French troops and 6,000 UN peacekeepers.

Ivory Coast officials said Sunday they were reluctantly ordering their troops to pull back from the offensive, which resulted in the deaths of nine French peacekeepers and the wounding of 22 others - and the death of an American consultant - in an air raid on Bouaké, a rebel stronghold.

But the officials remained defiant, saying the French were aggressors and occupiers who would now meet "fierce resistance."

"We are faced with aggression by one country against another country," Désiré Tagro, a presidential spokesman, told The Associated Press. "France has come to attack us."

France had replied sharply to the attack on Bouaké, destroying two airplanes and five helicopters - the majority of the country's tiny air force - and seizing control of major airports. That sparked attacks by machete-wielding gangs on French and other foreigners in Abidjan and other cities.

A Red Cross official said as many as 150 people had been wounded in Abidjan, most by gunfire. It was unclear how many, if any, were foreign nationals.

French military helicopters rescued expatriates from rooftops, while other helicopters and armored vehicles fired tear gas and percussion grenades to disperse rioters.

As many as tens of thousands of pro-government Ivorians marched on Houphouët-Boigny International Airport late Saturday and early Sunday in a bid to reclaim it from French troops, but they were forced back by rocket fire, tear-gas grenades and warning shots from French helicopters. At least three reportedly were killed. The airport remained closed.

France said it would hold President Laurent Gbagbo responsible for maintaining order; the secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, phoned Gbagbo twice to urge him to end the violence. Gbagbo's supporters have accused France of trying to oust him.

Mamadou Koulibaly, chairman of the National Assembly, said that his country had entered into "resistance" against France, which he accused of trying to take over Ivory Coast, a former French colony. He warned on France Info radio that the French would face a "long and difficult war," adding, "Vietnam will be nothing compared to what we are going to do here." But he called on Ivorians to cease fire.

France said Sunday it had sent troops to ensure security and had no secret agenda in Ivory Coast. "That is all that this is about, ensuring security," Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said, "not destabilization."

There were reports of mobs searching house to house for French families, and sometimes for anyone of non-African appearance.

Government loyalists set up roadblocks of burning tires. An Associated Press reporter watched as a crowd armed with machetes and iron bars entered an Abidjan neighborhood, demanding to know if there were any French there. "It's better to kill the whites than steal their stuff," one rioter shouted.

Some foreigners barricaded themselves in, or hid, terrified, on the roofs of their houses. Perhaps 200 foreign nationals found refuge at a French infantry encampment in Abidjan, some after being rescued by Ivory Coast police, soldiers or gendarmes. An estimated 10,000 or more French nationals live in Ivory Coast, many with joint citizenship.

Charles Sugden, a British national, said he was evacuated by a French military helicopter after angry youths burst onto the roof of his apartment. "I have shoes, jeans, a shirt, watch and wedding ring. Everything else has gone," he said. "Last night we thought we were going to get killed."

The worst rampages were said to be in the Bietry neighborhood, near the Abidjan port.

Regine Padovani, director of the Mermoz school in Abidjan, told Radio France Internationale that several hundred people had attacked her school.

"They knocked the door down with a pickup," she said. "The guards held them off as long as they could."

She described the crowd as "much tougher than in January 2003," during the last anti-French riots.

She and a few colleagues were finally rescued by a private security company backed by Ivorian gendarmes.

The situation Sunday appeared calmer as the day wore on, but sporadic firing was still being heard.

France said that it was sending nearly 700 more troops, including a medical team on an aircraft equipped to evacuate wounded soldiers; a 60-strong unit of gendarmes trained in restoring order; and 300 French troops stationed in nearby Gabon. An armored unit in Senegal was also said to be on stand-by.
.France sent reinforcements to Ivory Coast on Sunday after a bloody and confusing weekend ended with the small Ivorian air force shattered and thousands of angry people attacking French nationals and other foreigners, sometimes pulling them from their houses or cars or chasing them onto rooftops.

The United Nations Security Council, after an emergency session Saturday, called on the government of Ivory Coast to restore calm, and France said it might seek an arms embargo. The Security Council said that French troops and the UN forces in Ivory Coast were authorized to use "all necessary means" to carry out their peacekeeping mandate.

Government troops last week shattered an 18-month truce with air strikes against rebels who hold the northern half of the country, and sending soldiers into a neutral buffer zone patrolled by about 4,000 French troops and 6,000 UN peacekeepers.

Ivory Coast officials said Sunday they were reluctantly ordering their troops to pull back from the offensive, which resulted in the deaths of nine French peacekeepers and the wounding of 22 others - and the death of an American consultant - in an air raid on Bouaké, a rebel stronghold.

But the officials remained defiant, saying the French were aggressors and occupiers who would now meet "fierce resistance."

"We are faced with aggression by one country against another country," Désiré Tagro, a presidential spokesman, told The Associated Press. "France has come to attack us."

France had replied sharply to the attack on Bouaké, destroying two airplanes and five helicopters - the majority of the country's tiny air force - and seizing control of major airports. That sparked attacks by machete-wielding gangs on French and other foreigners in Abidjan and other cities.

A Red Cross official said as many as 150 people had been wounded in Abidjan, most by gunfire. It was unclear how many, if any, were foreign nationals.

French military helicopters rescued expatriates from rooftops, while other helicopters and armored vehicles fired tear gas and percussion grenades to disperse rioters.

As many as tens of thousands of pro-government Ivorians marched on Houphouët-Boigny International Airport late Saturday and early Sunday in a bid to reclaim it from French troops, but they were forced back by rocket fire, tear-gas grenades and warning shots from French helicopters. At least three reportedly were killed. The airport remained closed.

France said it would hold President Laurent Gbagbo responsible for maintaining order; the secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, phoned Gbagbo twice to urge him to end the violence. Gbagbo's supporters have accused France of trying to oust him.

Mamadou Koulibaly, chairman of the National Assembly, said that his country had entered into "resistance" against France, which he accused of trying to take over Ivory Coast, a former French colony. He warned on France Info radio that the French would face a "long and difficult war," adding, "Vietnam will be nothing compared to what we are going to do here." But he called on Ivorians to cease fire.

France said Sunday it had sent troops to ensure security and had no secret agenda in Ivory Coast. "That is all that this is about, ensuring security," Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said, "not destabilization."

There were reports of mobs searching house to house for French families, and sometimes for anyone of non-African appearance.

Government loyalists set up roadblocks of burning tires. An Associated Press reporter watched as a crowd armed with machetes and iron bars entered an Abidjan neighborhood, demanding to know if there were any French there. "It's better to kill the whites than steal their stuff," one rioter shouted.

Some foreigners barricaded themselves in, or hid, terrified, on the roofs of their houses. Perhaps 200 foreign nationals found refuge at a French infantry encampment in Abidjan, some after being rescued by Ivory Coast police, soldiers or gendarmes. An estimated 10,000 or more French nationals live in Ivory Coast, many with joint citizenship.

Charles Sugden, a British national, said he was evacuated by a French military helicopter after angry youths burst onto the roof of his apartment. "I have shoes, jeans, a shirt, watch and wedding ring. Everything else has gone," he said. "Last night we thought we were going to get killed."

The worst rampages were said to be in the Bietry neighborhood, near the Abidjan port.

Regine Padovani, director of the Mermoz school in Abidjan, told Radio France Internationale that several hundred people had attacked her school.

"They knocked the door down with a pickup," she said. "The guards held them off as long as they could."

She described the crowd as "much tougher than in January 2003," during the last anti-French riots.

She and a few colleagues were finally rescued by a private security company backed by Ivorian gendarmes.

The situation Sunday appeared calmer as the day wore on, but sporadic firing was still being heard.

France said that it was sending nearly 700 more troops, including a medical team on an aircraft equipped to evacuate wounded soldiers; a 60-strong unit of gendarmes trained in restoring order; and 300 French troops stationed in nearby Gabon. An armored unit in Senegal was also said to be on stand-by.

France sent reinforcements to Ivory Coast on Sunday after a bloody and confusing weekend ended with the small Ivorian air force shattered and thousands of angry people attacking French nationals and other foreigners, sometimes pulling them from their houses or cars or chasing them onto rooftops.

The United Nations Security Council, after an emergency session Saturday, called on the government of Ivory Coast to restore calm, and France said it might seek an arms embargo. The Security Council said that French troops and the UN forces in Ivory Coast were authorized to use "all necessary means" to carry out their peacekeeping mandate.

Government troops last week shattered an 18-month truce with air strikes against rebels who hold the northern half of the country, and sending soldiers into a neutral buffer zone patrolled by about 4,000 French troops and 6,000 UN peacekeepers.

Ivory Coast officials said Sunday they were reluctantly ordering their troops to pull back from the offensive, which resulted in the deaths of nine French peacekeepers and the wounding of 22 others - and the death of an American consultant - in an air raid on Bouaké, a rebel stronghold.

But the officials remained defiant, saying the French were aggressors and occupiers who would now meet "fierce resistance."

"We are faced with aggression by one country against another country," Désiré Tagro, a presidential spokesman, told The Associated Press. "France has come to attack us."

France had replied sharply to the attack on Bouaké, destroying two airplanes and five helicopters - the majority of the country's tiny air force - and seizing control of major airports. That sparked attacks by machete-wielding gangs on French and other foreigners in Abidjan and other cities.

A Red Cross official said as many as 150 people had been wounded in Abidjan, most by gunfire. It was unclear how many, if any, were foreign nationals.

Of course, Iraq would be such a better place if Bush would have just asked France nicely to join us.

link

[Drbio]

I wonder if France asked the UN for permission in this case. Or did it suit them to do so?

They are in it now. When people are fighting on their home turf to preserve their home, it becomes the toughest fight that you can imagine.

[Mavdog]

Originally posted by: Drbio
I wonder if France asked the UN for permission in this case. Or did it suit them to do so?

The UN approved the deployment of a peacekeeping force to Ivory Coast in Feb 2004. France has troops in addition to the UN force.

They are in it now. When people are fighting on their home turf to preserve their home, it becomes the toughest fight that you can imagine.

This is a former French colony, they've been there about 2 dozen times since Ivory Coast became independent (or sort of independent as the case seems to be...)

[Drbio]

I see sarcasm isn't wasted....[img]i/expressions/moon.gif[/img]

The frenchies are in for a fight, former colony or not. When people are fighting for sovereignty, it becomes a huge battle.