Looks like things are getting worse Sidi. We pray for everyone's safety and a
peaceful solution to this mess.

Jabou Joh

In a message dated 1/31/03 6:32:30 AM Central Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:


> From BBC World Service News
>
> Up to 1,000 stone-throwing youths have blockaded Abidjan airport as French
> nationals tried to leave, fearing renewed hostilities in Ivory Coast.
> A French soldier was injured in the protests, which came as a new
> transitional prime minister was due to arrive in Ivory Coast.
>
> Seydou Elimane Diarra was chosen as the new premier at French-brokered
> peace
> talks last week but supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo are refusing to
> accept the deal.
>
> When the agreement was announced, they staged four days of anti-French
> protests, accusing the former colonial power of forcing Mr Gbagbo to share
> power with rebels who control the largely Muslim north.
>
> The army has also said it will refuse to obey a rebel defence minister,
> which was reportedly part of the deal, although this does not appear in the
> official text.
>
> Mr Diarra is due to fly to Abidjan from the Senegalese capital, Dakar,
> where
> West African leaders are discussing the Ivory Coast crisis.
>
> "Go home and don't come back," the protestors screamed at families seated
> next to piles of luggage.
>
> Hundreds of French nationals have already left Ivory Coast on charter
> planes, fearing that full-scale war could resume.
>
> There are between 15,000 and 20,000 French nationals in Ivory Coast, the
> world's largest producer of cocoa, the raw ingredient of chocolate.
>
> Mr Gbagbo has not yet delivered his address to the nation, in which he has
> promised to explain why he agreed to the controversial deal.
>
> The BBC's Tom McKinley in Abidjan says that the president has little choice
> but to break his promise and reject the plan for reconciliation.
>
> French schools have brought forward their mid-term holidays by two weeks
> because of the trouble.
>
> The French Government stresses that it has no immediate plans to evacuate
> other French nationals but is continuing to monitor the situation "by the
> hour".
>
> Some 2,500 French troops are monitoring the ceasefire.
>
>
>
>
>

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