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Ivory Coast Students Riot in Abidjan 
By BAUDELAIRE MIEUX 
Associated Press Writer 

July 29, 2003, 12:00 PM EDT 

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- Thousands of college students -- some
brandishing knives, iron bars and sticks -- rioted in Abidjan on
Tuesday, demanding compensation for a lost school year canceled by Ivory
Coast's civil war. 

Police in helmets and carrying shields attempted to control rioters in
the lagoon-side economic capital by firing AK-47 machine guns in the air
and launching canisters of tear gas. 

The youths vandalized and looted several stores in the downtown area.
The crowd topped 2,000. 

Most of the students were from Bouake, Ivory Coast's second-largest city
some 200 miles north of Abidjan and the stronghold of rebels who control
the northern half of the country. 

Nearly all government and private services -- including schools,
hospitals and banks -- have been closed in the rebel-held north since
fighting began after a failed attempt to oust President Laurent Gbagbo
in September. 

The war was declared over July 4, and a power-sharing government has met
several times. The government hopes to disarm the rebels, who still hold
the north despite a peace accord signed by both sides. 

The protesting students, who claimed to be representing nearly 14,000 of
their peers from northern Ivory Coast, said they wanted compensation of
about $500 each for having missed classes this past year. 

A student representative was allowed into the presidential palace
downtown to speak with government officials, who were not immediately
available for comment. 

On Tuesday, French-run establishments appeared to be well-guarded by
police to prevent a replay of violence this year when protests by tens
and thousands of people targeted foreigners and Western businesses in
Abidjan. 

France has nearly 4,000 soldiers in Ivory Coast, a former French colony.
The French forces are working with 1,200 regional peacekeepers to guard
cease-fire lines that separate the north from the Gbagbo-loyal south. 

Ivory Coast, the world's top producer of cocoa, was once West Africa's
bastion of peace and stability. Its security was shattered by a 1999
coup, and the country has remained volatile ever since. 

Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press 

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