Army to be deployed in northern Ivory Coast: minister ABIDJAN, Dec 8 (AFP) - Extra security forces including the army are to deploy in the north of Ivory Coast to deal with increasing political violence ahead of a general election, Interior Minister Emile Boga Doudou said Friday. "We are going to secure all areas concerned and send reinforcements including the army," the minister told AFP. The announcement came after local authorities said four gendarmes and three policemen were shot and wounded overnight Thursday in the far northern town of Tengrela in riots. The paramilitary gendarmerie post and the prefecture, or administrative headquarters, at Tengrela, on the border with Mali, were completely destroyed by fire, district administrator Rene Edmond Agaud told AFP. A policeman's wife was raped and his house burned down, said the administrator. The interior minister again accused the opposition Rally of Republicans (RDR) led by Alassane Ouattara, who has been barred from standing in Sunday's election, of wanting to "take power by force". Boga Doudou added that the administrator of Seguela, 420 kilometres (262 miles) north west of Abidjan had been given an ultimatum to to leave the town before midday Saturday. "Obviously he will not do so," said the minister. Tens of thousands of supporters of Ouattara, a northern Muslim, demonstrated in Abidjan on Monday and Tuesday against a Supreme Court ruling barring him from the poll. The protests led to a violent crackdown by the security forces in which more than two dozen people have been killed and many injured. so-il/crl/nb _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------