held territory, shattering an 18- month ceasefire. The death of nine French peacekeepers in one of the airstrikes, and the subsequent destruction of most of the Ivorian air force by French troops, set off several days of riots in the main commercial city Abidjan, during which French citizens were targeted. The Red Cross estimated up to 1,000 people had been injured during the new violence in Ivory Coast, with between 200 and 300 people being admitted to the main hospital in Abidjan with gunshot wounds and other injuries. The situation in Abidjan appeared to be returning to normal in the wake of evacuations by foreign governments, diplomats said on Friday. This week, France and other European nations started evacuating their citizens from Ivory Coast. Mbeki flew to Abidjan on Tuesday to meet Gbagbo before inviting opposition and rebel leaders to Pretoria for consultations that Pretoria said it hoped would end with Ivorians finding their own political settlement.
