Sidi,

Things do not sound good and I do hope that you guys are also keeping a close
eye on things for your own safety.
Infact, your assumption was right on target because it is reported that those
students and faculty at the boarding school were delivered to special forces
in Ghana by the French Military. It must have been a  rightening experience
with bullets flying around them, and I am sure that others who are still
trapped there are feeling the same way.

So the Ivorians are killing each other and accusing the French of complicity.
Oh well!
It looks like this situation is providing an excuse for everyone to vent
their long held grudges.
We continue to pray for you guys and let us hope sanity will come to prevail.

What is the Gambia government doing to get those Gambians out?

Jabou Joh

In a message dated 9/25/2002 4:35:34 PM , [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> Jabou,
>
> I have sent a correction to my earlier posting after establishing contact
> with Ran Hotel.  The Team is safe and in good spirits and still
> at the Ran Hotel.
>
> You are right, the Bouake expatriate community is a sizeable one
> with hundreds of American students whose parents are missionaries or
> work for missions of different demonitaions.  The current American
> Ambassador to CI happens to have been Ambassador to The Gambia in 1989-91;
> it was at her request that the US is sending troops to protect Americans
> trapped in the stand-off. The Americans do not seem to have revealed their
> exact staging post but in my view the most logical staging post for them
> would be Accra. The French are reported to be in charge of Yassoussoukro
> airport and would conduct their operations from there.
>
> In Bouake things are reported to be quite in some parts of the town.
> However, according to reports, there has been fierce exchanges last night
> with rockets being fired over school roofs. The school are not being
> targetted per se.  Rather they happen to be situated in the line of cross
> fire which makes it all the more urgent to get expatriates, footballers and
> others evacuated.
>
> The situation meanwhile is very fluid and getting complex with time. A few
> moments ago, a growd of about 2000 demonstrated in front of the French
> Embassy in Abdijan demanding that Ouatara be handed over to the 'Ivorian
> people' and one placard accused the French of complicity in the recent
> political events in Cote d'Ivoire.
>
> Sidi Sanneh

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