Ivorian army helicopters strike rebel zone

[dArKeR]

Abidjan - Ivorian army attack helicopters struck military targets in the rebel-held north of the country late on Monday in retaliation for an attack on soldiers in a ceasefire zone, the rebel's military leader said.

"Taking this attack as a pretext, the Ivorian army deployed Mi-24 helicopters... lightly injuring 12 people," Colonel Soumaila Bakayoko, chief of staff of the rebel New Forces, said in a statement.

Ivory Coast's army confirmed it carried out an air strike in response to an attack on Sunday night by unidentified gunmen on its positions in a ceasefire zone policed by French troops.

http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=qw1086688441666B216&set_id=1


Côte d'Ivoire swept by violence

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Abidjan braced on Tuesday for more violence after a military air strike that breached the ceasefire zone dividing Côte d'Ivoire in retaliation for an attack against a military post in the country's centre.

Police officers mounted foot patrols and erected barricades to dissuade protesters from gathering, as they did on Monday, outside the French embassy in the Plateau business district.

France is the former colonial power in the West African country, helped broker a peace pact early last year in a civil war that had divided Côte d'Ivoire, and has troops among the peacekeepers patrolling ceasefire lines.

The Ivorian government had "most firmly" condemned the protest violence, calling it a "serious" violation of the Vienna Convention, which prohibits the siege of diplomatic missions and their personnel.

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=67591