In 2004, an
armed conflict took place between
French and
Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...
forces. On 6 November 2004, two Ivorian Air force
Su-25 attack fighters launched an air attack on French
peacekeepers in the northern part of Côte d'Ivoire who were stationed there as part of ''
Opération Licorne'' (Unicorn), the
French military operation in support of the
United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI). French military forces subsequently clashed with Ivorian troops and government-loyal mobs, destroying almost the entire
Ivorian Air Force. Those incidents were followed by massive anti-French protests in Côte d'Ivoire.
Background
In 2002, a
civil war broke out in Côte d'Ivoire between Ivorian military and other forces loyal to
Laurent Gbagbo, the
Ivorian president since 2000, and rebel forces identified with the
Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire. Although most of the fighting ended by late 2004, the country remained split in two, with a rebel-held north and a government-held south.
Ivorian attack on French forces
On 4 November 2004, Gbagbo ordered the counter-offensive to the rebel town of
Bouaké
Bouaké (or Bwake, N'Ko script, N’ko: ߓߐ߰ߞߍ߫ ''Bɔ̀ɔkɛ́'') is the second-largest list of cities in Ivory Coast, city in Ivory Coast, with a population of 740,000 (2021 census). It is the seat of three levels of subdivisions of Ivory ...
to be backed by air strikes. France did not directly react, but on 5 November moved three
Dassault Mirage F.1 jet fighters based in nearby
Gabon
Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...
on standby.
On 6 November, two Ivorian
Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft, crewed by two Belarusian mercenaries and two Ivorian pilots, fired on the Ivorian rebels led by
Issiaka Ouattara.
One of the bombers attacked the French peacekeeping position in the town at 1 pm, killing nine French soldiers and wounding 40.
["Ivory Coast seethes after attack"]
BBC News, 7 November 2004. An American soil scientist was also killed. Two French peacekeeping vehicles were destroyed.
The Ivorian government claimed the attack on the French was unintentional, but the French insisted that the attack had been deliberate.
[Ann Talbot]
"Ivory Coast: protests erupt vs. French military strikes"
World Socialist Web Site, 9 November 2004.
Retaliation by the French and subsequent riots
President Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
ordered the destruction of both Ivorian jets responsible for the attack.
At 2:20 pm, the Su-25s landed at
Abidjan airport and were damaged
by
MILAN
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
missiles fired by soldiers of the
2nd Marine Infantry Regiment, garrisoned at the airport. The French were then attacked by an Ivorian
Mil Mi-24 helicopter gunship, but repelled it with machine gun fire.
At 3 pm, armed mobs of Ivorians loyal to the government took to the streets of Abidjan to protest against France and began to mass near the airport and the base. At Abidjan's airport, French and Ivorian troops exchanged fire, and a French
Transall C-160 military transport plane was damaged by
RPGs at 4 pm. Two remaining Ivorian Su-25s, one
BAC Strikemaster and one Mi-8 were damaged while three helicopters (2
Mi-24 and 1
IAR 330 Puma)
were completely destroyed
on direct orders from General ,
before Ivorian protesters entered the
terminal.
On 7 November, thousands of Ivorian loyalists attacked a French school and army base. Crowds of young Ivorians attacked a residential district made up of French citizens, which had to be evacuated by airlift as mobs burst into their apartment buildings. Armoured cars carried armed protesters to join the fight, and French helicopters flew over Abidjan and dropped concussion grenades, while French armoured vehicles carried troops to put down the riots. Protesters erected burning roadblocks, and French gunboats were positioned beneath the bridges. Fighting continued, and, by Sunday, French forces were still not in control of the city. As the riots in the streets continued, French soldiers opened fire on Ivorian rioters; the French government stated that 20 were killed while Ivorian authorities placed the death toll at 60.
At
Duékoué and in the northern suburbs of Abidjan, French reinforcements and Ivorian troops exchanged fire, and Ivorian soldiers and civilians were killed.
French forces evacuated nearly 5,000 foreign nationals from Ivory Coast in the first half of November.
The United Nations Security Council unanimously passed
an arms embargo on the country on 15 November 2004.
French Foreign Minister
Michel Barnier stated President Gbagbo was "personally responsible for what has happened", and declared that the violence was "unexplainable, unjustifiable". Ivorian National Assembly President Mamadou Koulibaly told state television: "Ivory Coast has become an overseas territory in Jacques Chirac's head".
[
]
Aftermath
France reportedly let the two foreign pilots leave the country in a group consisting of fifteen Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian mercenaries. Questions were subsequently raised about possible French manipulation. In April 2021, a French tribunal issued life sentences, in absentia, to one Belarusian mercenary pilot and two Ivorian co-pilots for the attacks.
Côte d'Ivoire had begun rebuilding its air force with help from Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
and Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
a year after the French attack. In 2005 UN gave permission to Ivorian government for the transport and repairs of both heavily damaged Su-25, one Strikemaster and one Mi-24. The assorted equipment of the aircraft were discovered at the former residence of Félix Houphouët-Boigny by Alassane Ouattara in April 2011, at the end of the post-electoral conflict which saw Gbagbo ousted.
French judge issued an international arrest warrant for the two pilots suspected of the bombing, Patrice Ouei and Ange-Magloire Gnanduillet, in January 2006. An Ivorian military court was also seeking to find former defence minister Rene Amani and the former head of the loyalist army, , over the bombing. By 2008, relations between Côte d'Ivoire and France had returned to normal, with French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner being the first French foreign minister to visit since 2004.
References
Littérature
* ''Сергей Франчук.'
По следам наших птиц: Война в стране кокао
// История авиации : журнал — № 3. — 2005. — с. 63-68.
{{DEFAULTSORT:French-Ivorian Clashes
Conflicts in 2004
Wars involving Ivory Coast
Wars involving France
2004 in France
2004 in Ivory Coast
Military of Ivory Coast
Battles in 2004
November 2004 in Africa