French Troops Capture Airport in Cote d'Ivoire

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, December 01, 2002

French Troops Capture Airport in Cote d'Ivoire

French troops on Saturday captured the airport at the rebel-held town of Man in western Cote d'Ivoire after two days of skirmish between them and the rebels.

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French troops on Saturday captured the airport at the rebel-held town of Man in western Cote d'Ivoire after two days of skirmish between them and the rebels.

A French army spokesman told reporters that the French troops took control of the airport after launching a counterattack when the rebels open fire at first.

So far there seemed to be no casualties, he said.

There are some 80 French nationals in the town and the French troops are ready to evacuate them if necessary, the spokesman added.

It was reported that Man and nearby Danane on Thursday fell to the rebels from the Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP), a new armed group which emerged in the two-month crisis in the troubled country.

French troops in the west African country have been deployed tomonitor the ceasefire until the west African regional force can besent in to help end the conflict.

As Cote d'Ivoire's former colonial ruler, France has doubled its military presence in the world's largest cocoa producer to about 1,000 soldier since the uprising began on Sept. 19.

The uprising, which has plunged Cote d'Ivoire into its worst crisis since its independence from France in 1960, has claimed hundreds of lives and left tens of thousands of people homeless.

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