Gbagbo pleads with Ivorian rioters

Laurent Gbagbo went on TV briefly to ask protesters to return to their homes and jobs as riots against the deal agreed in France last week continued for a third day running in the main city, Abidjan.

" Do not worry, what was said at Marcoussis only amounted to propositions "
President Laurent Gbagbo

He promised to make a national address on the deal to end the country's four-month civil war after consulting his allies and appeared to play down the agreement.

"Do not worry, what was said at Marcoussis [a small town near Paris] only amounted to propositions," he said.

Gbagbo supporters are suspect about the deal brokered by France, the former colonial power, and have attacked its embassy and other interests in Abidjan.

Guards at a French military base and the embassy fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse crowds on Monday, but the unrest died down in the afternoon as the loyalists rallied near the presidential palace.

However, the BBC's correspondent in the city, Tom McKinley, reports that the president's upcoming address will be crucial.

Not only must he satisfy his staunchest supporters, our correspondent says, but the army, which has called the deal a humiliation.

'Betrayal'

Monday was a tense day in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's commercial capital and a city of 3 million.

Youths, some wielding machetes or iron bars, set up road blocks in parts of the city and pulled foreigners from their cars, news agencies report.

PEACE DEAL

Gbagbo loyalists fear giving too much power to the rebels who control half of the world's largest cocoa-producing nation.

They are particularly alarmed by rumours that the rebels will be given control over the national army under the French-brokered peace deal.

"France has killed us and killed democracy," said Ble Goude, one of the leaders of the loyalist unrest.

"How can we give control of our army to the rebels?"

Celestin Guei, a demonstrator who spoke to the Associated Press, said he wanted to hear Mr Gbagbo's explanation:

"I've come to listen to the president to see if it's him, or France, who leads Ivory Coast."

Consultations

Mr Gbagbo has assured his supporters that he is still in control.

He met leaders of his Ivorian Popular Front party on Monday afternoon, before speaking to defence leaders in the evening, according to state television.

He had originally been scheduled to make his national address on Monday night.

French schools which were damaged in Sunday's incidents remained closed on Monday.

The French consulate and cultural institute were also damaged in the violence, and so was Burkina Faso's embassy.

Foreign embassies have advised their nationals to stay at home while tension persists.