French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told members of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) that Saturday's fatal attack by Ivory Coast jets on French peace-keepers was deliberate, a top party figure said Tuesday. "There is no ambiguity about a supposed mistake on the part of the two Sukhoi pilots who we know were mercenaries from Belarus," said Bernard Accoyer, head of the party's group in France's National Assembly, after a meeting with Alliot-Marie. | Buy the planes, get pilots at no extra charge! |
Nine French peace-keepers were killed in the raid, prompting President Jacques Chirac to order the destruction of the Ivorian air force. On Monday Alliot-Marie said she had been told by wounded survivors that "the Ivorian plane flew twice over the building and fired on the third pass." |