ABIDJAN, Nov 7 (AFP) - French forces in Ivory Coast began deploying in the violence-torn main city of Abidjan Sunday as the head of Ivory Coast's ruling party demanded that Paris withdraw its troops from the west African country.
The developments followed a night of fighting in which French peacekeepers clashed with thousands of demonstrators, leaving at least three dead, after a government air strike killed nine French peacekeepers and a US civilian in Bouake, in the center of the former French colony.
The leader of President Laurent Gbagbo's party, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), Sunday demanded "the immediate departure of all French troops from the Ivory Coast."
In a message aired repeatedly over national television, Pascal Affi N'Guessan also called on "patriots" -- as Gbagbo's supporters are known -- to "descend massively into the streets of Abidjan and all the cities of the country this minute and prevent by any means the free movement of any foreign force."
A presidential spokesman however called on France to order its troops in back to their bases as a prelude to talks on the crisis. "We do not contest France's presence but we do not understand why it has decided to attack Ivory Coast," said Desire Tagro on French television.
He called on France to "give a clear and firm order to French troops to go back to their bases and stop shooting."
Mounting anti-French feeling boiled over at the weekend, when tens of thousands of young Gbagbo supporters marched on Abidjan airport, vowing to "retake" the facility from French forces.
The French soldiers used 20mm cannon against the demonstrators, and state radio said three were killed, while parliament speaker Mamadou Coulibaly told French public radio that 30 were shot dead.
A French defense ministry spokesman immediately denied the claim, while witnesses said they had seen "inert bodies" on a bridge.
In retaliation for the air strike Saturday, French forces destroyed two warplanes and at least three army helicopters after President Jacques Chirac ordered the destruction of all Ivory Coast planes involved in ceasefire violations in the country, divided since a failed coup two years ago.
In the worst crisis to hit Franco-Ivorian relations since independence in 1960, events have led the government in Paris to terminate its policy of strict neutrality in the country's civil war and take decisive military action to curb Gbagbo's forces.
France has some 5,300 troops in the country, including the 4,000-strong Unicorn force working alongside 6,000 UN peacekeepers in a buffer zone separating government forces from rebel New Forces in the north of the country.
Another 660 French troops have been ordered to deploy, notably to protect French nationals in Ivory Coast.
In the economic capital Abidjan, French interests were being protected by 600 men at the base of the 43rd marine infantry batallion near the international airport, which French troops closed to civilian flights Saturday and placed under their control.
Meanwhile the African Union on Sunday mandated South African President Thabo Mbeki to launch an "urgent mission" to resolve the Ivorian crisis.
In a communique, the AU urged "all the parties to exercise maximum restraint to prevent a further aggravation of the situation."
On Saturday the AU sharply rebuked the Ivory Coast government, saying: "This escalation clearly contradicts the process of national reconciliation."
Coulibaly accused France of "occupying" his country and accused it of having armed the rebels who control the north of the world's top cocoa producer.
The UN Security Council, which held an emergency meeting at France's request, condemned the attack on French forces and voiced support for French and UN forces in the former French colony.
France was set to ask the council to adopt "new measures" including an arms embargo against Ivory Coast. The council was scheduled to discuss the unrest at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
France has had troops stationed in Ivory Coast since last year after helping to mediate a peace agreement following the outbreak of a civil war in 2002, but the implementation of the pact has been fitful and Ivory Coast has remained divided.
Saturday's unrest lasted into the early morning hours of Sunday, during which some looting of Westerners' homes took place, according to witnesses.
More than 150 foreign nationals took shelter in a French military barracks near the airport, a military spokesman said.
Young Gbagbo supporters have repeatedly accused the French peacekeepers of siding with the rebel New Forces. Four French schools have been sacked or destroyed.
The United States warned its citizens against travel to Ivory Coast, citing a "volatile" security situation throughout the country and a high risk of violence against foreigners.
The Dutch, Belgian and Swiss governments advised their nationals in Ivory Coast to stay home, while Kenya's flagship Kenya Airways and the Belgian airline SN Brussels Airlines (ex-Sabena) cancelled flights to the country.

11/07/2004 15:09 GMT - AFP