Posted on 09/25/2002 7:13:04 AM PDT by blam
US forces join French troops in Ivory Coast
US troops have landed in West Africa to help French forces protect westerners in the former colony.
The US soldiers have been told to make 100 trapped American school children their priority.
French troops have moved closer to Bouake to rescue their nationals and other Westerners.
There are fears they could be caught in cross fire between government troops and renegade forces who launched the coup attempt on Thursday.
"This is a very welcome development," said a relieved James Forlines, director of Free Will Baptist Foreign Missions. The Nashville, Tennessee-based church group had sent calls for help for the mission boarding school in the cut-off city after rebels scaled the walls Tuesday, firing from its grounds.
"It has been a very trying day. It has been a very trying five days," mission official Neil Gilliland said, speaking from the US.
The first of what are expected to be four US military planes for any rescue landed at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, capital of neighbouring Ghana.
Authorities gave no immediate details on the arrival, but Ghana's Foreign Ministry said it expects three C-130 cargo planes among the four, bringing troops and equipment.
The scrambling to safeguard Westerners in the Ivory Coast came amid fresh clashes after the failed coup, which has left rebels holding two cities. At least 270 people have been killed and thousands displaced so far.
Story filed: 09:33 Wednesday 25th September 2002
Rescuers 'secure' Ivorian school
French troops have reached the international school in the Ivory Coast town of Bouake where at least 160 children have been trapped by fighting.
The French force was sent to the town to evacuate Americans and Europeans caught in the middle of fighting between rebel soldiers and Ivorian government forces.
Heavy fighting has been reported in the town over the last two days, following its seizure by rebels following the military uprising against President Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan, Bouake and Korhogo on 19 September.
French troops have reached Bouake
The US army is also taking measures to protect the students - three military planes have arrived in neighbouring Ghana carrying an estimated 200 troops and equipment.
The deployment - at the request of the US ambassador - comes as Ivorian army troops attempt to recapture Bouake.
A total of about 300 Americans and 600 French nationals are trapped in Bouake.
An Ivorian journalist trapped in a hotel in the town told the BBC's World Today programme that there had been hours of gunfire on Tuesday between the rebel soldiers occupying the town and government forces.
The rebels still controlled much of the town, he said, and were patrolling in vehicles.
Coup claim
A school official was quoted by the Associated Press agency as saying that the French forces had arrived in numbers and secured the school campus. The troops had moved up from the capital Yamoussoukro, where France had deployed several hundred troops with the aim of rescuing foreigners.
Heavy shooting had earlier been reported close to the Christian school. The AFP agency said that some of the shooting appeared to have been aimed at the school.
Ups and downs Before 1999 - Relative calm and stability 1999 - Coup; General Guei takes power 2000 - Guei flees after rigging elections; Gbagbo wins controversial elections 2001 - coup attempt fails 2002 Troops mutiny, Guei killed
A US Navy spokesman said the US troops being sent to West Africa were there to "assist in moving American citizens from the Christian Academy, where they are, to a safe location, still within Ivory Coast".
In an interview with the BBC, Lieutenant-Commander Donald Sewell said that the US forces were in West Africa, "to be in a closer position to be able to provide for the safety of American citizens".
He denied that they had a specific military operation planned but said that the US forces were in close contact with the French military units in Ivory Coast.
A French military spokesman told the BBC that the French troops were liaising with American and British officers in Abidjan.
The military uprising began last week when the rebels attacked in Abidjan and took control of Bouake and the northern town of Korhogo. The government quickly suppressed the uprising in Abidjan.
Three national African football teams who were competing in a tournament are also trapped in a hotel in Bouake.
Rebel soldiers say they are protesting at plans to expel them from the army. The government has accused them of trying to stage a coup.
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