France warned of long war in Ivory Coast

Men throw water on a blaze at the Librarie de France bookstore in Abidjan's chic Cocody quarter burns Saturday. Young "patriotic" partisans of President Laurent Gbagbo looted French property in Abidjan after French armed forces stationed here destroyed two government military aircraft, it was reported. PHOTO: AFP

"We are really launched on a long, hard war. It will be a quagmire for the French. What has happened marks a turning point. Vietnam will be nothing compared with what we are going to do here," he said by telephone on France Info radio.

Coulibaly, an ally of President Laurent Gbagbo, was speaking a day after French planes destroyed the Ivorian air force in retaliation for the killing of nine French troops, and French helicopters fired rockets to stop a crowd advancing on Abidjan airport.

About 100 foreigners threatened by rioting and looting have taken shelter at French military barracks near Abidjan's international airport, a French military spokesman said yesterday.

Earlier, three people were reported to have been shot dead as tens of thousands of Ivorians marched on the airport, controlled by French troops since a government air raid Saturday killed nine French peacekeepers and a US civilian.