Rebels say Gbagbo 'causing chaos'
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Rioting is undermining an already shaky peace deal in the Ivory Coast.
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ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (Reuters) -- Ivory Coast's rebels have accused President Laurent Gbagbo of orchestrating an attempted attack on their stronghold and creating general chaos in a bid to further undermine an already shaky peace deal in the war-divided nation.
The rebel statement late on Monday came after two days of military and popular upheaval which have raised the spectre of a return to battle in the world's top cocoa producer, despite the formal end to a civil war that erupted last year.
"Nobody is fooled. These plots and political manoeuvres are indeed the work of President Laurent Gbagbo who is pretending to be swamped by extremists in his regime and is, in this way, creating general chaos," rebel official Guillaume Soro said.
Militant pro-Gbagbo supporters backed by soldiers tried to march on the central rebel stronghold of Bouake on Saturday night but were stopped by French troops who are monitoring a truce between the rebel-held north and government-held south.
Ivory Coast's war, which grew out of a failed coup against Gbagbo in September 2002, was officially declared over in July but a French-brokered peace accord has been hobbled by disputes.
On Sunday, a group of disgruntled soldiers briefly took over state television and called on the French to quit the frontline. They also called on the Ivorian army chief of staff quit.
On Monday, hundreds of youths armed with rocks, machetes and knives tried to storm the main French military base in the southern city of Abidjan. French troops fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the protesters.
By Tuesday morning, some demonstrators were still camped out in front of the base, but the situation was calm.
Gbagbo said in an interview published in a French newspaper on Tuesday that he wanted the French force to stay.
Soro also said the rebels would delay a decision on whether to return to a power-sharing government, set up under the peace deal but in limbo since rebels pulled out in September.
Rebel spokesman Antoine Beugre said on Tuesday that the rebels would only return when security was assured in Abidjan.
Soro described the events of the past days as a "grotesque set-up" aimed at forcing the rebels to unilaterally disarm and meant to get rid of the moderate wing of the armed forces.
The rebel statement called on Ivorians to "mobilise massively" to show their support for the peace deal and for the 4,000 French and 1,300 African troops posted in the country.
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