Ivorian leader urges end to anti-French violence
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-11-08 10:03

Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo appealed for an end to anti-French crowd violence which erupted after France destroyed most of Ivory Coast's small air force in retaliation for the killing of nine French peacekeepers.

Under heavy international pressure to end the unrest, Gbagbo -- whose West African country is divided in half with rebels holding the north -- made his first public appearance since the crisis began by going on state television on Sunday night.

Ivory Coast military troops are seen on their way back from the front line in Yamoussoukro, November 7, 2004. Ivory Coast ordered a pullback from an offensive on the rebel-held north after France destroyed its airpower in a retaliatory strike which sparked mob attacks on French citizens and property. [Reuters]

"I am calling on people to remain calm, I am asking all the demonstrators to return home. You must not give into provocation," Gbagbo said after days of fiery rhetoric from supporters had whipped up anti-French anger.

French and United Nations peacekeeping officials said Abidjan was generally calm on Sunday night but that groups of youths were still out looting in the affluent Cocody district.

For a second night, French helicopters plucked frightened French nationals and other foreigners from the rooftops of houses and hotels, army spokesman Henry Aussavy said. Sporadic bursts of gunfire could be heard in the city.

Ivorian officials initially maintained they had no evidence their military had struck the French peacekeepers in an air raid on the rebel-held town of Bouake on Saturday. But on Sunday the army acknowledged responsibility, although it said it had not meant to target the French and appealed for calm.

On President Jacques Chirac's orders, the French military retaliated by blowing up two Ivorian Sukhoi 25 fighters and three helicopters in the capital Yamoussoukro.

Groups of Ivorian militants then attacked numerous foreigners and foreign-owned businesses in Abidjan, prompting French troops to stage dramatic airborne rescues to evacuate residents under siege in their apartment blocks.

The U.N. Security Council, the African Union and the European Union issued urgent appeals for an end to the violence, which also threatens stability in West Africa where other states have also been plagued by conflicts in the past decade or so.

France began negotiations on a Security Council resolution to impose an arms embargo and other sanctions.

South African President Thabo Mbeki would visit Ivory Coast on Tuesday to mediate in the crisis, Ivorian state TV said.

France has some 4,000 soldiers based in Ivory Coast to support a U.N. peacekeeping force policing a cease-fire line between rebels and government troops.

Only a few hours before Gbagbo's appeal, the leader of the Young Patriots movement which backs him urged people to occupy Abidjan's main bridges where the French had set up checkpoints.

"As I speak to you, they are occupying our two bridges. They want to intimidate us but we must stand tall," Charles Ble Goude said on state radio. "Not a single step back, stand tall."

A resident living near one bridge saw no sign of protesters.

Violence began escalating in Ivory Coast last Thursday when Gbagbo's forces broke an 18-month cease-fire to launch air raids on the rebel-held north. The country has been divided since a failed attempt to topple the president in September 2002.

Gbagbo said on Sunday he had decided to attack because "all avenues for dialogue have been exhausted."

His supporters accused France of trying to oust him and seize control of the country's natural resources. They demanded French troops leave Ivory Coast.

But Paris said it just wanted to re-establish stability and facilitate dialogue between the rebels and the government as part of long-running peace efforts .

"France is in no way there to destabilize Ivory Coast and its institutions or to take sides," said French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier.

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