Ivory Coast Army Readies for Fight to Retake Cities

20/09/2002| IslamWeb

Ivory Coast's army mobilised to recapture cities held by renegade troops after former junta leader Robert Guei was killed in what the government said was an attempt to seize power again in the West African country. The worst strife to hit Ivory Coast since turbulent elections in 2000 revived fears the world's biggest cocoa producer, riven by ethnic and political quarrels, could tumble into the anarchy that has ruined nearby states like Liberia and Sierra Leone.

President Laurent Gbagbo, on a visit to Rome when the plotters struck on Thursday, was quoted as saying he would return home early on Friday and miss a planned meeting with Pope John Paul.

As well as Guei, top officials said Interior Minister Emile Boga Doudou and several senior military officers died in the fighting. Soldiers said the death toll could run to dozens.

Military sources said loyalists were preparing to move on Bouake, the second biggest city in the former French colony, which was seized by rebel troops who attacked before dawn on Thursday. Rebels also hold the northern city of Korhogo.

"We believe that within a few hours, the resistance in Bouake will be put down," Defense Minister Moise Lida Kouassi announced on state radio, adding that renegade soldiers in Korhogo had begun talks with local military authorities.

But residents said that the dissidents appeared firmly entrenched in both cities. They said soldiers toured the streets in commandeered vehicles, firing in the air and warning civilians to stay off the streets.

Mutineers have not said they aim to take power, but are protesting against their retirement from the army under a plan to make security forces more efficient.

In Korhogo, the heartland of northern opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, people said some local youths appeared to have rallied to the rebel cause and roamed the streets in civilian dress carrying automatic weapons.

Lida said Ouattara was safe under government protection in Abidjan, but his spokesman said security forces earlier smashed down the former prime minister's gate and he had sought refuge elsewhere.

PHOTO CAPTION

Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo walks in front of the Presidential guards on horseback at the Quirinale, the Presidential Palace, in Rome, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2002. President Gbagbo is in Italy for an official visit. On Thursday Sept. 19, 2002 heavy gunfire and explosions sounded in Abidjan as members of the security forces apparently staged a mutiny in the troubled West African nation. (AP Photo/ Enrico Oliverio-Ufficio Stampa della Presidenza della Repubblica)
- Sep 19 7:46 AM ET