Britons told to leave Ivory Coast

The Foreign Office says it is " too risky" for Britons to stay

Britons are being urged to leave Ivory Coast immediately because of growing unrest, the UK Foreign Office has said.

The UK embassy has also closed, said Minister for Africa Chris Mullin.

The BBC's James Copnall in the main city, Abidjan, says there are growing fears of a return to civil war after several months of peace.

The mandate of 10,000 French and UN peacekeepers patrolling a buffer zone between the rebel-held north and the loyalist south expires on Monday.

It is not yet clear whether it will be renewed.

Evacuation

Pro-government militias demand that the French leave, while the rebels and the civilian opposition are urging them to stay.

Mr Mullin said the latest decision to urge Britons to leave was "mainly due to the uncertain security situation and our inability to protect staff or British nationals should there be another outbreak of violence".

"But it also reflects the lack of progress in the peace process. Until all parties genuinely commit to finding a political solution, there is little point in us remaining; the risk is just too high."

In November, there were attacks on foreigners after French warplanes destroyed the Ivory Coast air force in retaliation for the killing of nine French peacekeepers and an American aid worker.

This led to a French-led evacuation of some 8,000 foreigners, including more than 200 Britons.

Some 146 people from the UK and countries using British consular services are registered in Abidjan.

The Ivory Coast was once seen as a model of stability and was West Africa's richest country but the seeds of conflict were sown during a 1999 coup.

Northern Muslims say they are discriminated against by the government based in the largely Christian south.