A French military helicopter swept in to pluck trapped civilians from a hotel in Abidjan on Sunday as mobs burned and looted buildings across Côte d’Ivoire’s largest city.
A French military helicopter landed early on Sunday afternoon at Hotel Ivoire, one of the country’s leading hotels. Witnesses watched as about 12 people with suitcases ran to the helicopter.
Gunshots rang out across the city, with smoke billowing from fires set by rampaging mobs.
Meanwhile, about 100 foreigners threatened by rioting and looting have taken shelter at French military barracks near Abidjan’s international airport, a French military spokesperson said on Sunday.
Earlier, three people were reported to have been shot dead as tens of thousands of Ivorians marched on the airport, controlled by French troops since a government air raid on Saturday killed nine French peacekeepers and a United States civilian.
Colonel Henry Aussavy said demonstrators were surrounding the Marine infantry camp where the foreigners had sought refuge, and that French troops were attempting to disperse them with teargas.
”The situation is not easy, but it it is under control,” said Aussavy, the spokesperson for France’s 4 000-member Unicorn peacekeeping force in the divided west African country.
Aussavy said the foreigners, of various nationalities, sought protection from the French because they had been attacked or their property had been looted.
French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie late on Saturday ruled out early evacuation of the 14 000 French nationals here, most of whom live in Abidjan.
The African Union on Sunday mandated South African President Thabo Mbeki to launch an ”urgent mission” to resolve the crisis in the country.
”President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa has been mandated to untertake an urgent mission in consultation with the chairperson of the AU commission, with a view to promoting a political solution” in the west African country, the African Union said in a communique.
French President Jacques Chirac on Saturday ordered the destruction of Ivorian aircraft involved in ceasefire violations, and Aussavy said the last two Russian-built MI-24 helicopters in the Côte d’Ivoire air force had been ”neutralised.”
The French troops barred all civilian traffic at the international airport, and Aussavy said it was impossible to say when the traffic would be allowed to resume.
The French troops opened fire as tens of thousands of demonstrators supporting President Laurent Gbagbo tried to march on the international airport, according to the state radio.
Ivorian parliament speaker Mamadou Coulibaly said earlier over French public radio on Sunday that more than 30 people were killed in the clash on Saturday, which was denied by a French defence ministry spokesperson.
French helicopters fired warning shots to head off the demonstrators, and erected heavy 20mm machine guns near the Houphouet-Boigny and Charles de Gaulle bridges on the lagoon linking working-class and business districts with the airport. – Sapa-AFP