Military

DATE=11/9/04

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE= IVORY COAST (L-UPD) (CQ)

NUMBER=2-320282

BYLINE= NICO COLOMBANT

DATELINE= ABIDJAN

/// In 7th Graf of text, make it: Ivorian Reconciliation Minister Dano Dje Dje, removing word "Prime" ///

/// UPDATES 2-320273, WITH NEW DETAILS THROUGHOUT ///

HEADLINE: Mbeki Mediates in Ivory Coast, French Army Meets Resistance

INTRO: South African President Thabo Mbeki has made a short mediation visit to divided Ivory Coast, where thousands of supporters of Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo are mounting a growing resistance against French soldiers in the government-held south. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from Abidjan.

TEXT: Mr. Mbeki said his brief visit, under the auspices of the African Union, was meant to receive assurances from Mr. Gbago that he will implement a peace deal signed in early 2003, and updated several times since then.

/// MBEKI ACT ///

"I am very encouraged by the work that has been done by the government with regards to working on that it responds to all of these elements that are contained in those agreements. My responsibility of course now is to report urgently so they will direct us about what to do next."

/// END ACT ///

After Mr. Mbeki left for the airport, heavy gunfire broke out in parts of Abidjan.

Outside the presidential residence, thousands of people formed a human shield. One young man, Joel, fears French forces helping U.N. peacekeepers are plotting to oust Mr. Gbagbo.

/// JOEL ACT ///

"We stay here until the French leave our country. We stay there until the French leave Ivory Coast. We stay here with Laurent Gbagbo."

/// END ACT ///

The commander of the French forces, General Henri Poncet, has said France has no intention of overthrowing the government. French armored vehicles are parked in strategic areas of the city and deployed in affluent neighborhoods where there were several days of looting.

Ivorian Reconciliation Minister Dano Dje Dje says that during the French crackdown, 50 Ivorians were killed and more than 500 injured.

/// OPT DJE DJE ACT IN FRENCH FADED UNDER ///

He said that while French troops blocked the city's bridges Monday, it was very difficult for the injured and doctors to get to hospitals, but that the government intervened to have the French tanks leave the bridges. /// END OPT ///

A French military spokesman says he does not know yet how many people were killed. He said French forces fired in the air to disperse protesters, but that they also engaged in firefights with armed militias at night, killing an unknown number of what he called "enemy fighters."

French troops are also trying to move dozens of armored vehicles from the north into Abidjan, but have been blocked by overturned vehicles and angry crowds at entrances to the city, like here in Yopougoun.

/// NAT SOUND OF WAR CHANT ///

One of the protesters singing war chants is Achille, who also says French forces must leave.

/// ACHILLE ACT IN FRENCH FADED UNDER ///

He says he does not understand why the French are still here, and that they should just leave Ivory Coast to Ivorians.

/// OPT /// French troops deployed in late 2002 to protect a cease-fire line between northern-based rebels and Ivorian soldiers. They are now acting as a rapid reaction force to assist six-thousand United Nations peacekeepers.

Tensions rose Saturday when the Ivory Coast military bombed a French base in the rebel-held north, killing nine French soldiers. French forces retaliated by destroying all Ivorian military aircraft. Immediately after, looting, protests and attacks broke out in Abidjan. /// END OPT ///

Insecurity has also been growing in other parts of the government-run south, including the rich central cocoa heartland of Gagnoa where Monday and Tuesday there were reports of deadly attacks by militias on African foreigners, like Burkinabes and Malians. Officials there have imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew. (SIGNED)

NEB/NC/KBK/RAE