HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/ae/Qicoast-france-africa.RZRc_CSM.html French troops stand permanent guard in Africa Emmanuel Serot PARIS, Sept 22 (AFP) - France is on permanent guard in Africa, where it has stationed some 6,000 troops in five ex-colonies to intervene in crises, join multilateral peacekeeping forces, and ensure that defence pacts are adhered to. On Sunday, it sent in a contingent of soldiers to boost its presence in Ivory Coast to protect French nationals and other foreigners following a failed coup attempt by rebels, which has left 270 people dead. Six hundred men are already in Ivory Coast. Senegal and Chad each host about 1,000 soldiers each, with 600 troops in Gabon and 2,700 in Djibouti. "These troops have been deployed with the goal of preventing crises," the defence ministry says. Contrary to earlier practice during the post-colonial period, the French army today no longer provides African countries with military assistance but is ready to intervene at any moment. "These are professionals who have been trained in all kinds of latitudes -- in the tropical forests of Gabon where it's very humid and Djibouti which is very hot and dry," a colonel told AFP. In a crisis, these troops can be brought in as reinforcements much faster than if they were stationed in France. Their proximity also makes way for greater flexibility in terms of sending equipment and vehicles. "This pre-positioning of troops always allows us to make deployments according to the needs of our nationals," defence ministry spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau, told AFP on Sunday. He said French policy on Africa was based on a "regional approach" and was not confined to its former colonies, stressing that France followed a strictly hand-off policy as far as the internal affairs of a country went and would not intervene to prop up a head of state, or topple him. The French forces intervene now only to protect nationals during crises such as Ivory Coast's latest coup, when the army quashed an uprising in Abidjan on Thursday at the cost of 270 people killed and 300 wounded, according to government figures. The rebels were still holding two cities on Sunday -- Bouake, in the centre, where about 600 French nationals were among the foreigners trapped, and Korhogo, in the north, where some 80 French nationals live. The French army sent reinforcements to Abidjan early Sunday, drawing them from other bases in Africa. Some of the Transall aircraft used to fly them to Abidjan went on to wait on standby in nearby Senegal and Gabon, ready to return at a moment's notice. The main worry for French authorities in such situations is when French nationals get caught in cross-fire between rival forces. The French troops also join, on demand or whenever required, multilateral or pan-African forces under the aegis of the United Nations. Spokesman Bureau said France provided technical and military assistance to a Senegalese contingent which was part of a UN observation mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1997, France signed a pact with Britain and the United States to coordinate action to maintain peace in Africa. They have together launched a training programme for troops from African countries. The first training programme took place in 1998, followed by "Gabon 2000" ande "Tanzanite" in Tanzania at the start of this year. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes http://finance.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
