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Mobs Loot, Burn in Ivory Coast Cities
Machete-waving mobs looted and burned in Ivory Coast's largest cities Sunday, laying siege to a French military base and searching house to house for French families after a day of ground and air clashes between forces of France and its former colony. Ivory Coast — its tiny air force destroyed and its airports taken by the French in retaliation for a deadly airstrike on a French peacekeeping position — reluctantly said Sunday it was willing to cease fire and that it was pulling back troops. The move aims to restore a cease-fire with rebels controlling the north that was in place for more than a year until government forces broke it on Thursday. Still, the government took a defiant tone toward France. Ivory Coast will ask the Security Council for action against France, presidential spokesman Desire Tagro declared on state TV, adding, "We are faced with aggression by one country against another country. We are going to inform the entire world ... that France has come to attack us."France's punishing military strikes came in retaliation for the Ivory Coast air force's surprise bombing of a French peacekeeping position on Saturday in the north, held by rebels since civil war broke out in the world's top cocoa producer in September 2002. Posted by: Fred 2004-11-07 |
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