Cote d'Ivoire Rebels Clash with French Troops

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, December 30, 2002

Cote d'Ivoire Rebels Clash with French Troops

Cote d'Ivoire's rebels clashed with French troops Sunday in the northwest of the country for the third time in two weeks, a French military spokesman said.

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Cote d'Ivoire's rebels clashed with French troops Sunday in the northwest of the country for the third time in two weeks, a French military spokesman said.

No casualties were reported for the French side.

Lieutenant-Colonel Ange-Antoine Leccia told reporters Sunday the rebels of the Ivorian People's Movement for the Great West (MPIGO) launched attacks on French positions, destroying three vehicles.

On Friday, the MPIGO rebels opened fire on a French patrol group in the western town of Duekoue, Leccia said, adding the French force fired back in "legitimate self-defense," but none of the French was injured.

Eight days ago, a confrontation between French troops and the rebels broke out in the same area.

More French troops arrived with military hardware, boosting the French forces in its former colony to between 2,300 and 2,500.

French troops have been monitoring a fragile ceasefire between the main rebel group, the Patriotic Movement of Cote d'Ivoire (MPCI), and the government. They have also served as a buffer between other rebel groups and the government forces.

The situation in Cote d'Ivoire has been getting subtle as the rebels rejected peace proposals presented by west African mediators because of what they declared as favoring the government.

The three rebel groups, the Movement for Justice and Peace, the MPCI and the MPIGO, have mulled the idea of an alliance but put it on hold.

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