seruriermarshal
06-25-2004, 07:00 PM
Ivory Coast soldier kills French peacekeeper in unprovoked attack on convoy
ABIDJAN (AFP) Jun 25, 2004
A French soldier on patrol in restive Ivory Coast was fatally shot Friday by a member of the west African state's armed forces, the French military said.
Late Friday afternoon, an Ivorian soldier opened fire on a French military convoy traveling through Zambakro, a town south of the capital Yamoussoukro in the center of the country, a statement from the French military command said.
"A soldier from the Ivorian national armed forces FANCI fired unprovoked on a French military vehicle, shooting one of its occupants in the back," the statement said.
"The perpetrator of this isolated incident was immediately taken down by other FANCI soldiers in the area."
Some 4,000 French troops patrol a ceasefire in the former French colony, hoping to forestall a reprise of the civil war that erupted following a failed September 2002 coup against President Laurent Gbagbo.
The divided country has since been suspended in a state of near-war pocked by spurts of violence, the most recent being a violent state-sanctioned crackdown on an opposition rally that left at least 120 dead, a UN human rights team has said.
A joint investigation into the incident has been launched and the family of the victim has been notified. He has yet to be identified.
Friday's slaying brings to three the number of French soldiers killed since Operation Unicorn was launched more than a year ago. On August 25 last year, two French peacekeepers were killed by "renegade elements" of the rebel military force known as the New Forces while on boat patrol in Kossou Lake, which stretches along the ceasefire zone.
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From (http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040625205757.t0asb9p9.html)
REGIMENTAL PRAYER
Almighty, merciful, and loving Father,
you are the one who hears all our prayers and grants our petitions.
We ask you to remember, as we do,
the tremendous sacrifice made by those who went before us.
They have given their lives so that we might live and breathe freely.
We ask you to receive them into your hands.
Father, give us the strength and wisdom to learn from their example,
to uphold freedom and life at home and around the world.
Keep us vigilant as we guard the frontiers of freedom.
Give our leaders the wisdom and the strength to lead well.
Grant all of us courage and confidence.
Be, for all of us, troopers, a wise counsel in keeping peace
and a strong shield for us against our enemies.
Oh heavenly Father, give us the determination
that the peace and freedom won at such a high price be lasting!
Father, hold all of the troopers in the palm of your almighty hand
and protect them in the shadow of your wings.
Amen.
:(
ABIDJAN (AFP) Jun 25, 2004
A French soldier on patrol in restive Ivory Coast was fatally shot Friday by a member of the west African state's armed forces, the French military said.
Late Friday afternoon, an Ivorian soldier opened fire on a French military convoy traveling through Zambakro, a town south of the capital Yamoussoukro in the center of the country, a statement from the French military command said.
"A soldier from the Ivorian national armed forces FANCI fired unprovoked on a French military vehicle, shooting one of its occupants in the back," the statement said.
"The perpetrator of this isolated incident was immediately taken down by other FANCI soldiers in the area."
Some 4,000 French troops patrol a ceasefire in the former French colony, hoping to forestall a reprise of the civil war that erupted following a failed September 2002 coup against President Laurent Gbagbo.
The divided country has since been suspended in a state of near-war pocked by spurts of violence, the most recent being a violent state-sanctioned crackdown on an opposition rally that left at least 120 dead, a UN human rights team has said.
A joint investigation into the incident has been launched and the family of the victim has been notified. He has yet to be identified.
Friday's slaying brings to three the number of French soldiers killed since Operation Unicorn was launched more than a year ago. On August 25 last year, two French peacekeepers were killed by "renegade elements" of the rebel military force known as the New Forces while on boat patrol in Kossou Lake, which stretches along the ceasefire zone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From (http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040625205757.t0asb9p9.html)
REGIMENTAL PRAYER
Almighty, merciful, and loving Father,
you are the one who hears all our prayers and grants our petitions.
We ask you to remember, as we do,
the tremendous sacrifice made by those who went before us.
They have given their lives so that we might live and breathe freely.
We ask you to receive them into your hands.
Father, give us the strength and wisdom to learn from their example,
to uphold freedom and life at home and around the world.
Keep us vigilant as we guard the frontiers of freedom.
Give our leaders the wisdom and the strength to lead well.
Grant all of us courage and confidence.
Be, for all of us, troopers, a wise counsel in keeping peace
and a strong shield for us against our enemies.
Oh heavenly Father, give us the determination
that the peace and freedom won at such a high price be lasting!
Father, hold all of the troopers in the palm of your almighty hand
and protect them in the shadow of your wings.
Amen.
:(