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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2 March 2006

COTE D IVOIRE: French peacekeepers complain of harassment by Ivorian army

ABIDJAN, 2 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - French peacekeeping troops stationed in Cote d'Ivoire are complaining of repeated harassment this week from Ivorian troops, saying the government army deliberately tried to "provoke an incident" in the volatile western region, a spokesman said on Thursday.

"For three consecutive days, Ivorian troops showed aggressive behaviour towards French soldiers with a clear intention to provoke," French army spokesman Jean-Luc Cotard told IRIN. "It's strictly unacceptable behaviour."

The alleged harassment took place in the confidence zone, a broad strip of no-man's-land patrolled by French and UN peacekeepers to separate rebels who hold the north of Cote d’Ivoire, from the Ivorian army in the south.

Cotard said that since Sunday, Ivorian troops had crossed into the confidence zone three times, in and around the village of Boueneu, some 600 kilometres from the main city Abidjan.

After the second incursion French peacekeepers accompanied an Ivorian patrol back to the government area but then were taken in for questioning in the nearby government-run town of Zouan-Hounien.

At the local prefecture, the French were "insulted, spat on and given death threats as Ivorian soldiers videotaped the scene," Cotard said. They were later released.

On Tuesday, 18 Ivorian troops again crossed into the confidence zone and began filming and insulting French peacekeepers, he said.

Residents of Boueneu also feel victim to harassment and intimidation, according to Cooperation Minister Mabri Toikeusse, one of the opposition members of the power-sharing transition cabinet, who hails from the region. He said 54 villagers, including the village chief, were brutalised and beaten by Ivorian troops because they had allowed French peacekeepers to set up camp in an abandoned school building.

The zone of confidence was demarcated in 2003 and cuts a swath from east to west through Cote d'Ivoire. No major incursions have been reported in the zone since the Ivorian army violated a cease-fire agreement in November 2004, and began a three-day air offensive against rebel targets in the north.

[ENDS]

This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but May not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006