The French army chief of staff urged U.N. sanctions against &to=http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/09/30/37473.html' target=_blank>Ivory Coast, saying Wednesday that both sides in the West African nation's conflict have shown they are unwilling to resolve their problems.
&to=http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/365/16429_France.html' target=_blank>France has troops in the large U.N. peacekeeping force in Ivory Coast, where protesters have repeatedly attacked U.N. installations this week. Rebels accuse President Laurent Gbagbo of orchestrating the unrest to undermine a new transitional government.
"This affair has lasted for more than three years," Gen. Henri Bentegeat said on Europe-1 radio. "There is an obvious lack of will from the two parties to reach a lasting solution."
He said the United Nations has warned of sanctions, although the African Union must agree. "I think that the time has come," Bentegeat said.
Bentegeat said that intervention by French forces "cannot be excluded," but would only happen if lives were endangered.
U.N. peacekeepers fought off armed attackers besieging a military compound Wednesday, then evacuated all staff from the area.
France's defense minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, said the situation in Ivory Coast was "extremely worrisome" and urged an end to violence so that officials can take up peace efforts, reports AP.
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