French troops besieged by Ivory Coast mobs
Pro-government mobs laid siege to the main French military base in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital Abidjan today, demanding that peacekeepers withdraw from the country and allow fighting to resume in its civil war.
The soldiers, in Ivory Coast to enforce ceasefire lines in the former French colony, fired tear gas and blanks to force back a rock-throwing crowd that started at about 250-strong. French forces in riot gear held the gates against the crowd as it milled throughout the day.
