French troops clashed with soldiers and angry mobs yesterday after Ivory Coast warplanes killed at least nine French peacekeepers and an American civilian in an air strike — mayhem that threatened to draw foreign troops deeper into the West African country's escalating civil war.
France hit back, destroying what it said was the entire Ivory Coast air force — two Russian-made Sukhoi jets used in the bombing and five helicopter gunships. France scrambled three Mirage fighter jets to West Africa and ordered about 300 troops to be readied for deployment in Ivory Coast.
Matt's Chat
WHAT! The French haven't surrendered yet? I'm shocked...surely this is a quagmire...Seriously though... Ivory Coast and Sudan are two hotspots that need some attention.
3:00PM Update
Release:In fact, on Saturday, Nov. 6 French troops in an alleged retaliation move, openly and unilaterally waged war against Cote d'Ivoire (former Ivory Coast). To that end they bombed the Ivorian Presidential Palace, destroyed the national army war planes, targeted and killed more than 300 defenseless civilians who took to the street in Abidjan to demonstrate against French military occupation of their country.Matt: It doesn't look like the Frenchies are exactly coming off as the good guys here either... Anybody have insight in to this situation?
In addition, the French troops seized the two airports in Abidjan and Yamoussoukro, and sent more troops to reinforce their positions. In so doing, France under Jacques Chirac demonstrated her implication in the terrorist attacks launched on Sept. 19, 2002, by Ivorian rebels backed by Burkina Faso and Liberia in an attempt to overthrow the elected president, President Laurent Gbagbo.
