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http://sg.news.yahoo.com/020926/1/336zl.html Agence France-Presse Friday September 27, 12:03 AM West African troops standing by to intervene in I.Coast: Nigeria -Nigerian fighter planes have flown into Ivory Coast, sent to help the army fight mutineers, while French soldiers began evacuating foreigners from the rebel-held central city of Bouake. -Three Alpha Jets arrived Wednesday in coastal Abidjan to provide air cover if President Laurent Gbagbo invited Nigerian-led west African soldiers to intervene -A "limited number" of US special forces were on the ground, with more standing by in neighbouring Ghana, US officials said, and a small British contingent was checking whether British troops were needed to protect British nationals. -"ECOWAS can bite," Onyia added. In the past, ECOMOG units under Nigerian command have deployed to quell unrest in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Nigerian fighter planes have flown into Ivory Coast, sent to help the army fight mutineers, while French soldiers began evacuating foreigners from the rebel-held central city of Bouake. Three Alpha Jets arrived Wednesday in coastal Abidjan to provide air cover if President Laurent Gbagbo invited Nigerian-led west African soldiers to intervene, Nigerian junior foreign minister Dubem Onyia told AFP Thursday. In Bouake, where the French contingent evacuated 170 schoolchildren, most of them American, on Wednesday after heavy fighting between the mutineers and loyalist troops attacking from the outskirts, correspondents found more than 100 bodies in the morgue. It was impossible to determine whether they were rebels, loyalists, or civilians caught in cross-fire. A "limited number" of US special forces were on the ground, with more standing by in neighbouring Ghana, US officials said, and a small British contingent was checking whether British troops were needed to protect British nationals. Onyia said Nigeria sent the fighter planes to Ivory Coast at the request of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which has its headquarters in the Nigerian capital Abuja. "The ECOWAS members think democracy is being threatened in Cote d'Ivoire," he said, referring to the country by its French name. "ECOMOG (the military arm of ECOWAS) is on alert and will be deployed when President Laurent Gbagbo decides." "ECOWAS can bite," Onyia added. In the past, ECOMOG units under Nigerian command have deployed to quell unrest in Sierra Leone and Liberia. ECOWAS leaders are due to meet in Dakar next week for an emergency summit on Ivory Coast. Gbagbo on Thursday agreed to attend, a senior ECOWAS official said. The crisis erupted on September 19 when more than 700 soldiers slated for demobilisation in December mutinied in Abidjan, Bouake and Korhogo, the main town in the predominantly Muslim north. Ivory Coast is the world's largest cocoa producer, with some 40 percent of the total, and the crisis has resulted in cocoa prices soaring to their highest level in 16 years. The government declared the uprising had been masterminded by a "rogue state" in the area which was later identified by the ruling party's newspaper as neighbouring Burkina Faso. Gbagbo said foreign mercenaries had entered Ivory Coast with heavy weapons to back the rebels. Loyalists quashed the uprising in Abidjan at the cost of 270 dead and 300 wounded, by official count, but the rebels were still in firm control Thursday of Bouake and Korhogo. Travellers reported the mutineers were seizing territory between Korhogo and the border with Mali, to the northwest, capturing hearts and minds in the process by their good treatment of civilians. Some of the 600 French nationals who live on Bouake told AFP correspondents that the rebels were treating the civilians well there too, even distributing money and rice to the needy. Several thousand excited demonstrators took to the streets of Bouake on Thursday to demonstrate their support for the rebels, screaming "Gbagbo is a thief," and "Gbagbo resign." The army and the rebels both gave a green light for the French soldiers to evacuate those wanted to leave among the 1,000-strong expatriate community in Bouake, about 600 of whom are French, reliable sources told AFP. They were being taken to Yamoussoukro, the capital, 100 kilometres (60 miles) to the south. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
