Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo appealed for an end to the anti-French violence which erupted after France destroyed most of the country’s air force in retaliation for the killing of nine French peacekeepers. France deployed troops on the streets of the main city Abidjan on Sunday, took control of the airport and flew in hundreds of extra soldiers to contain the backlash of looting and rioting in major towns across the world’s top cocoa grower.

French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said yesterday that calm appeared to be returning to the West African country and no evacuation of French citizens was planned, although she said the situation remained “extremely fragile”. Under heavy international pressure to end the unrest, Gbagbo – whose West African country is divided in half with rebels holding the north – made his first public appearance since the crisis began by going on state television on Sunday night.

“I am calling on people to remain calm, I am asking all the demonstrators to return home. You must not give in to provocation,” Gbagbo said after days of fiery rhetoric from supporters had whipped up anti-French anger. French and United Nations peacekeeping officials said Abidjan was generally calm on Sunday night but groups of youths were still out looting in the affluent Cocody district.

For a second night, French helicopters plucked frightened French nationals and other foreigners from the rooftops of houses and hotels, army spokesman Henry Aussavy said. Sporadic bursts of gunfire could be heard in the city. Ivorian officials initially maintained they had no evidence their military had struck the French peacekeepers in an air raid on the rebel-held town of Bouake on Saturday. But on Sunday the army acknowledged responsibility, although it said it had not meant to target the French and appealed for calm.

On President Jacques Chirac’s orders, the French military retaliated by blowing up two Ivorian Sukhoi 25 fighters and five helicopters in Abidjan and the capital Yamoussoukro. Groups of Ivorian militants then attacked numerous foreigners and foreign-owned businesses in Abidjan, prompting French troops to stage dramatic airborne rescues to evacuate residents under siege in their apartment blocks.

The UN Security Council, the African Union and the European Union issued urgent appeals for an end to the violence, which also threatens stability in West Africa where other states have been plagued by conflicts in the past decade or so. France began negotiations on a Security Council resolution to impose an arms embargo and other sanctions.

South African President Thabo Mbeki will visit Ivory Coast today to mediate in the crisis, Ivorian state TV said. France has some 4,000 soldiers based in Ivory Coast to support 6,000 UN peacekeepers policing a ceasefire line between rebels and government troops. France is sending at least 600 more soldiers to bolster its force.

Only a few hours before Gbagbo’s appeal, the leader of the Young Patriots movement which backs him urged people to occupy Abidjan’s main bridges where the French had set up checkpoints. “They want to intimidate us but we must stand tall,” Charles Ble Goude said on state radio. “Not a single step back, stand tall.” He said both bridges were occupied, but a resident living near one bridge saw no sign of protesters.

Violence began escalating in Ivory Coast last Thursday when Gbagbo’s forces broke an 18-month ceasefire to launch air raids on the rebel-held north. Cocoa prices hit a two-month high on Friday following the attack. Ivory Coast has been divided since a failed attempt to topple the president in September 2002. Gbagbo said on Sunday he had decided to attack because “all avenues for dialogue have been exhausted”.

<B>Silvia Aloisi

Peter Murphy</B>

<I>“On President Jacques Chirac’s orders, the French military retaliated by blowing up two Ivorian Sukhoi 25 fighters and five helicopters.”</I>