United Nations says seven peacekeepers killed in Ivory Coast

UNITED NATIONS — Armed men ambushed and killed seven U. N. peacekeepers trying to protect villagers in Ivory Coast on Friday and more than 40 of their colleagues who stayed to guard from more attacks remain in danger, the United Nations said.

Hundreds of villagers were fleeing the area near the Liberian border, and U. N. officials said others may have been killed or injured. Authorities have been unable to confirm any additional casualties because of the remote- ness of the area near the Liberian border.

U. N. Secretary- General Ban Ki- moon condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms,” saying he was “saddened and outraged” about the deaths of the peacekeepers, all from Niger. He urged the government of Ivory Coast to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

Ivory Coast’s deputy defense minister Paul Koffi Koffi said government forces, along with Liberian and U. N. forces, will launch an operation on June 15 to find the men responsible. He said they were “militia men or mercenaries.”

Koffi Koffi said they could not respond sooner because it would take time to gather equipment and prepare the forces.

An Ivorian Cabinet official who was briefed on the matter said President Alasanne Ouattara requested helicopter gunships from the U. N. and expected them to arrive by Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Bert Koenders, the U. N. envoy to the west African nation, said the peacekeepers were part of a patrol south of the town of Tai, an area the U. N. mission recently reinforced because of threats of attacks against the civilian population. The ambush involved a large group of armed men, a U. N. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

“Their colleagues are still in danger,” Ban told reporters. “Even tonight, after the attack, more than 40 peacekeepers remain with the villagers in this remote region to protect them from this armed group.”

The mayor of Tai, Desire Gnonkonte, told AP that hundreds of villagers were fleeing the area.

“We are moving in reinforcements as soon as we have daylight,” said Kieran Dwyer, the spokesman for the U. N. peacekeeping department.

Josephine Guerrero, a spokeswoman for the U. N.’ s Department of Peacekeeping Operations, said it was the biggest attack on peacekeepers in recent years.

Sylvie van den Wildenberg, acting spokeswoman for the U. N. mission in Ivory Coast, called it “the first attack of its kind” against U. N. peacekeepers in the country.

She said several vehicles were on a reconnaissance patrol near the village of Para on the southern axis of Tai to follow up on “rumors of movement of armed people in the area and threats on the security of civilians.”

“There were several vehicles on the patrol and the leading vehicles were strongly hit,” van den Wildenberg said. “The area is densely forested and very tough terrain.”