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Ivory Coast soldiers battle looters
( 2003-03-31 08:17 ) (7 )

Fighting between government troops and armed looters in Ivory Coast's lawless west killed one civilian and wounded 19, an official in the rebellion-torn nation said Sunday.

Soldiers attacked and chased off English-speaking fighters who were looting the village of Guiuebli on Saturday, Lt. Col. Philippe Mangou said. The village is near Ivory Coast's border with Liberia,

None of the soldiers or looters were reported hurt during the fight and no one was arrested. But Mangou said one woman was killed and 19 people were injured.

He said that the looters were mercenaries from Liberia, where English is spoken. He charged that they were hired by Ivory Coast insurgents whose six-month rebellion has divided the world's largest cocoa producer into government and rebel-held regions. Rebel leaders weren't immediately available for comment.

Numerous attacks on civilians have been reported in the area, and both the rebels and government forces have blamed each other for the violence.

They also accuse each other of hiring Liberian fighters, who are known for looting and their poor discipline. Bands of Liberian fighters not allied with either side roam the region as well, government officials have said.

About 3,000 French troops are in Ivory Coast to protect foreign nationals and patrol a cease-fire line that has mostly held.

But that line doesn't extend all the way to Ivory Coast's frontier with Liberia, and the border region is slipping deeper into chaos.

A commander of the French force, Gen. Bruno Dary, said he heard reports of the fighting at Guiuebli, but couldn't confirm them.

Ivory Coast's "west is a problem for everyone," Dary said. "The resolution of the crisis in the west depends on the participation of all parties. We need a consensus to push back the Liberian combatants."

Fighting in Ivory Coast has killed more than 3,000 people, according to government estimates, and has displaced more than 1 million. The rebellion sprang from a failed coup attempt in September.

A new, national unity government arranged under a Jan. 24 French-brokered peace pact has so far failed to emerge.

(AP)