French send more troops to Ivory Coast

French troops have exchanged gunfire with rebels

France is flying more troops to Ivory Coast despite a threat by the country's main rebel group to fight against them.

French military spokesman Ange-Antoine Leccia told Reuters news agency the first of several hundred extra troops would arrive later on Saturday.

The French force in Ivory Coast is deviating from its mission and becoming a true force of occupation

Guillaume Soro, MPCI chief negotiator

"Today it is just the first company - the others will arrive over the next 10 days," by sea and air, he said.

On Friday, a spokesman for the Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast (MPCI) Guillaume Soro accused the troops of deviating from its peacekeeping mission and becoming a force of occupation.

So far, the 1,200 troops deployed in France's former colony have been monitoring a shaky ceasefire between government forces and the rebels who now control the north of the country.

They will have a broader mandate than the one they currently hold, and be able to enforce the ceasefire.

The BBC's Paul Welsh in Ivory Coast's commercial capital, Abidjan says the MPCI believes the French are taking sides with the government.

The French spokesman has described the rebel threat as "political comments" to which France had no response.

But Lieutenant Colonel Leccia said the troops would not try to recapture the northern half of the country from the rebels.

Both sides have been recruiting

"Our job is not to take back the north," he said, adding that the additional troops would be deployed along a "line of non-engagement".

Refugee influx feared

At least 400 people have been killed since the uprising by disgruntled soldiers, and hundreds of thousands displaced by the fighting.

A quarter of a million people have now been displaced by the worsening war in Ivory Coast - half to neighbouring countries.

The United Nations Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees and the regional director of the UN's World Food Programme have made special visits to the country to oversee preparations for the worst.

The UN is prepared for the worst and the mood now is more when, rather than if it should happen, our correspondent says.

Talks fail

As part of efforts to end the war, France has also said it will call a summit in Paris of all Ivory Coast players, as well as African leaders involved in the crisis.

"The MPCI will be invited to Paris, if it shows itself to be a political force," French foreign ministry spokesman Francois Rivasseau said on Friday.

Seven Ivorian political parties have signed a document in which they call for the liberation of the rebel-held zones and urge respect for constitutional legality and territorial integrity.

MPCI rebels condemned the meeting, and suspended their participation in the Togo peace talks.

The presidents of Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana and Togo are due to meet on Monday to try to take the talks forward.