Ousted Ivory Coast president flees to Togo on French plane

Deposed President Henri Konan Bedie yesterday left????Cote d'Ivoire Ivory Coast on a French aircraft headed for Togo two days…

Deposed President Henri Konan Bedie yesterday left ????Cote d'Ivoire Ivory Coast on a French aircraft headed for Togo two days after being overthrown in a coup, diplomatic sources said.

The west African country's new ruler, Gen. Robert Guei, had insisted that France remove Mr Bedie from the territory of the former colony.

Mr Bedie was overthrown on Friday by army mutineers a day after a rebellion turned into a coup d'etat in the west African country. On Saturday a military junta was formed by Gen. Guei, a former chief of general staff who had been accused of plotting against Mr Bedie some three years ago.

Mr Bedie, in power since December 1993, took over from Ivory Coast's founding father and late veteran ruler, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, under whom the country had effectively become a one-party state run by the Democratic Party (PDCI) machine.

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The streets of the capital, Abidjan, returned to normal yesterday, with markets reopening and buses and taxis circulating.

The sporadic shooting and wild looting that had followed Thursday's military uprising also ceased.

On Saturday evening fears that Ivory Coast was heading for a period of serious instability and uncertainty were eased to some degree after military chiefs and politicians pledged allegiance to Gen. Guei.

The general and his mutineers, who in 72 hours dismantled four decades of rule by the PDCI, called on France to get Mr Bedie off Ivorian territory, and warned that sending further French troops could lead to bloodshed.

On a main boulevard leading to the international airport, which has remained closed since Thursday, hungry French expatriates lined up in front a supermarket, anxiously waiting for the doors to open.

Some expressed anger at their country's moves to send in reinforcements on the pretext of protecting them. The decision was instead interpreted by many in the country as a last-ditch bid to shore up support for an unpopular president.

Turning to an Ivorian soldier one woman declared: "We have no problems here. We will be on your side if you have to fight them."

France at the weekend reinforced its 550-strong garrison with a further 40 men to protect its 20,000 nationals in the country.

Ivory Coast which became independent in 1960 and has just seen its only coup since.

Paris also dispatched 300 paratroopers to nearby Senegal ready to deploy to Cote d'Ivoire if needed, according to French officials, to look after French residents in the former colony or to undertake evacuations.

Two helicopters ferried the 40 extra soldiers to the Cote d'Ivoire base by the airport from Gabon. Authorities in Paris gave to understand on Saturday that this move, at least, had been acceptable to Guei. Gen. Guei, who was accused in 1996 of plotting a coup against Mr Bedie, said that he would not allow France to send in further reinforcements. He warned that such a move would lead to bloodshed.

Appearing on television on Saturday evening, surrounded by armed soldiers, members of Mr Bedie's former coterie expressed their support for the country's new junta.

Mr Laurent Dona Fologo, the secretary-general of the ruling PDCI, pledged support for Gen. Guei, as did the unseated foreign minister, Mr Essy Amara.

Mr Fologo, who had also been minister of national solidarity, appealed for unity and said he hoped that the changes "in the interests of the population" would succeed.

Mr Emile Bombet, the former interior minister, appeared on television on Friday evening after being held in custody by mutineers.