=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/01/31/i= nternational0548EST0494.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, January 31, 2003 (AP) Airport protest blocks French trying to flee Ivory Coast (01-31) 04:30 PST ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) -- Rock-throwing demonstrators invaded Abidjan's international airport Friday, blocking airliners on the tarmac and taunting French passengers trying to flee France's troubled former West African colony. At least one French soldier was injured by rocks thrown by the Ivorian protesters as French troops took up defensive positions around their citizens trying to board planes home after days of anti-French protests. The demonstrators were later forced off the tarmac by Ivorian troops. "Go home and don't come back!" the protesters screamed at families seated next to piles of luggage. More than 1,000 protesters who oppose Ivory Coast's recent France-broker= ed peace accord spilled onto the tarmac where about 100 French troops were protecting planes. The chaos prevented some passengers from boarding flights, while others were trapped inside the planes. Ivorian paramilitary troops and police initially sought to convince the whistle-blowing protesters -- mostly young men dressed in the orange, green and white colors of Ivory Coast's flag -- to leave peacefully. Minutes later, four French military helicopters touched down on the tarm= ac and French reinforcements spilled out, rushing to secure the area as several demonstrators set a French flag on fire. Ivory Coast Defense Minister Bertin Kadet also arrived on the scene and tried unsuccessfully to calm the mob. After 45 minutes, Ivorian soldiers chased the demonstrators off the tarm= ac and the throng re-assembled outside. A dozen French armored vehicles prevented them from re-entering. "The Ivorian military is unable to provide liberty of movement," Lt. Col. Philippe Perret, the French army spokesman, told The Associated Press. "This is unacceptable." Ivorian demonstrators blame the French for a week-old, French-brokered peace deal that they say gives too much power to rebels behind a 4-month-old civil war. The power-sharing plan reportedly gives rebels control of the Interior and Defense ministries -- giving insurgents control of the military and the paramilitary police. Ivorian Seydou Diarra, slated to be the new prime minister under the now-threatened peace deal, was to to arrive in Abidjan on Friday. The chaos at the airport made his arrival uncertain. Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa exporter, was once a oasis of stability in Africa. A military takeover in 1999 sparked ethnic and political violence culminating in a coup attempt last September and a subsequent civil war. France has 2,500 troops based in the country to protect more than 16,000 French civilians. Paris sent another 130 paramilitary police on Thursday as violence against its citizens escalated. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP