Leaders say revolt over after failed coup attempt in Ivory Coast

Friday, September 20th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) _ Leaders of the Ivory Coast insisted forces loyal to the government had quelled a bloody revolt by rebel soldiers despite continued resistance in some parts of the West African country and the unknown fate of a Cabinet member.

At least 10 rebel soldiers and seven loyal police were killed in Thursday's attempted coup, including the interior minister and the country's former military ruler, Gen. Robert Guei, who was accused of having a role in the uprising.

The sports minister might still be in the hands of insurgents in the central town of Bouake, Infrastructure Minister Patrick Achy said.

The insurrection came as President Laurent Gbagbo was in Italy on a state visit. While members of the military were believed to be involved, it was not clear how many troops took part or what branch of the armed forces mutinied. Diplomats had said early in the uprising that as many as 800 soldiers rebelled.

``Loyalist forces have come out on top,'' Gbagbo said in a statement from Rome, where he announced he was cutting short his visit.

Officials traveling with him said on Thursday evening that the situation in the commercial capital of Abidjan was now under control of the army.

But earlier Defense Minister Lida Moise Kouassi said on state television that there were still ``pockets of resistance,'' including Bouake.

Gbagbo's government has been struggling to calm ethnic and political tension and a restive military since the once-tranquil country suffered its first coup in 1999.

Insurgents launched their attacks about 3 a.m. Thursday, striking homes of the president and ministers of the interior and of defense, military barracks, and other sites across Abidjan.

Attacks were reported at about the same time in at least three northern and central cities and towns. There were no reports of violence in Yamoussoukro, the titular capital.

The uprising erupted with bursts of automatic-weapons fire outside a paramilitary police base in Abidjan. About 15 gunmen broke into the compound, killing six paramilitary police officers, a surviving officer said from within the base.

Gunfire and repeated, heavy explosions spread to other parts of the city, including downtown and suburbs. One rocket hit an anti-riot police post, injuring two officers.

Government troops killed Guei, the ex-junta leader when his car refused to stop for a roadblock in downtown Abidjan, paramilitary police Sgt. Ahossi Aime said.

Guei, the former army chief who took power in the 1999 uprising, was forced out during elections the next year amid allegations he was trying to steal the vote.

In Rome, presidential aide Toussaint Alain said it was evident the former junta chief had played a role in the coup attempt. ``Do you think Guei was on the battlefield going shopping?'' Alain asked.

By late Thursday Guei's body lay in a morgue, with a single bullet hole in the head.

Interior Minister Emile Boga Doudou apparently was killed in a rebel attack on his residence in which two guards were injured, police said.

Outside Abidjan, young men in civilian clothes battled with soldiers cornered inside a military base in the northern city of Korhogo, an opposition stronghold.

The attackers displayed two bodies they said were a civilian shot in the cross fire and a paramilitary policeman.

Gunmen also attacked an air base in Bouake and an army base in the northern town of Fereke, a senior army commander said. The military commander in Bouake was killed in the fighting, military officials said. Residents of the central town of Daloa also reported heavy gunfire.

Ivory Coast authorities closed the international airport in Abidjan, and imposed a 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. curfew through Tuesday. Most streets were deserted Thursday afternoon ahead of the curfew, with only soldiers on patrol. Schools and many businesses closed.

Witnesses said soldiers early on were shooting at motorists who approached roadblocks.

The U.S. and other Western embassies stayed shuttered Thursday and urged their nationals to stay indoors.

Ivory Coast's standing as one of West Africa's most stable and prosperous nations shattered with the Dec. 24, 1999, coup. The takeover ushered in three years of military uprisings and political and ethnic violence, killing hundreds. The government has heavily armed the police and military to try to enforce order.