The general who led 4,000 French peacekeepers in Ivory Coast is being investigated for allegedly ordering the murder of an Ivorian prisoner. Henri Poncet, a four-star general, was yesterday placed "under investigation", a step short of being charged, for complicity in the killing on May 13 of Firmin Mahé who was allegedly suffocated by two French soldiers in the back of an armoured vehicle, according to the French defence ministry.The two soldiers face murder charges. Ivory Coast has been in turmoil since 2002, when rebels seized the northern part of the country.