The invading forces have taken advantage of fighting between rebel soldiers and troops loyal to President Laurent Gbagbo.

Since a September 19 failed coup attempt by about 700 soldiers, antigovernment troops in this West African country captured several towns, giving them nearly full control over the northern region of the country, which borders neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali. At least 270 people have been killed in the confrontation.

Washington dispatched some 200 U.S. Special Forces in C-130 cargo planes to Ghana, from where they were deployed to Yamoussoukro, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire September 25. The U.S. troops set up a post at an airfield in the city and cleared the way for Humvees that rolled out of the cargo planes.

A Pentagon spokesperson in Washington, Lt. Commander Don Sewell, stated that "the U.S. European Command is moving forces to assure the safety of American citizens." He said the troops were preparing "for all contingencies."

Paris sent 100 French troops to Abidjan to reinforce 600 soldiers already based in its former colony. London also dispatched a small detachment of troops to Abidjan September 25.

The big-business media showed pictures of U.S. troops "rescuing" American schoolchildren waving U.S. flags. U.S. Peace Corps employees were picked up along with missionaries and children at a Baptist mission near the northern city of Korhogo. French troops evacuated more than 2,000 French, German, U.S., and other foreign citizens from the central town of Bouaké. U.S. and French troops have been carrying out "rescue" operations in areas throughout the north.

The Nigerian government, the dominant regime in West Africa, is also intervening in the conflict, landing three Alpha jet fighters in Abidjan. Nigerian military officials said the jets were sent to "provide cover primarily for thousands of Nigerians trapped in the country."

The government said the coup attempt was led by former military ruler Robert Gueï and accused the regime in Burkina Faso of backing the attack. Gueï, who was killed during the antigovernment attack, assumed power in the country after a military coup in late 1999. Under international pressure Gueï allowed elections in October the following year when he was defeated by Gbagbo.

The revolt was apparently sparked by the president’s announcement in early September that he was forcing into retirement about 750 soldiers from units that were known for their loyalty to Gueï. On September 19 the troops revolted in Abidjan, the commercial capital, Korhogo, and Bouaké, the country’s second largest city. On September 27 they seized Odienne, a cotton-producing city in the northwest.

According to the BBC, the mutinous troops are demanding reinstatement into the army and a pay raise. They have won a measure of support among civilians in Bouaké. Thousands of people marched in the city September 22 shouting antigovernment slogans and cheering the rebel troops as they drove by, the Washington Post reported. Several days later thousands of residents took to the streets again in support of the insurgents. Hatred of the government had grown as it has deployed police and paramilitary gangs to attack Muslims living in the northern part of the country and immigrants. About 3 million people from Burkina Faso live in Côte d’Ivoire.

Meanwhile, another opponent of the regime, former prime minister Alassane Ouattara, said government forces also tried to kill him. "Simmering tensions have regularly exploded" between forces of president Gbagbo based in the south and west and backers of Ouattara based in the north with hundreds killed in street battles over the past three years, the Associated Press reported. French imperialism, during and since the end of direct colonial rule, has fostered religious and other divisions in Côte d’Ivoire to maintain its dominance.

Côte d’Ivoire, a country of 16 million people that won its independence from France in 1960, is the world largest producer of cocoa. French and U.S. capitalists have substantial investments in the country. French investors include major banks as well as the Total and Elf oil companies.

The major U.S. investors in the country are oil interests, such as Houston-based Ocean Energy consortium. U.S. capitalists are seeking to develop potentially lucrative oil and gas reserves off the shore of Côte d’Ivoire.  
 
 
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