President Laurent Gbagbo has 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. "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. 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.
| This might have something to do with Ghagbo backing down: |
Some 50 armored vehicles were moved around the home of President Laurent Gbagbo in Ivory Coast's commercial capital, Abidjan, said presidential spokesman Desire Tagro. "Their presence here is scaring people. They're crying and they think that President Gbagbo is going to be overthrown," Tagro told The Associated Press by telephone. The French denied targeting Gbagbo's home, saying the forces were only securing a temporary base at a nearby hotel for foreign evacuations. "They have not surrounded Gbagbo's residence. I formally deny that," French Embassy spokesman Francois Guenon said. "It is not a question of ousting him, that is very clear." | It's a message, "we can take you down any time we want." |
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