Ivory Coast students riot over lost school

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- Thousands of college students -- some brandishing knives, iron bars and sticks -- rioted in Abidjan on Tuesday, demanding compensation for a lost school year canceled by Ivory Coast's civil war.

Police in helmets and carrying shields attempted to control rioters in the lagoon-side economic capital by firing AK-47 machine guns in the air and launching canisters of tear gas.

The youths vandalized and looted several stores in the downtown area. The crowd topped 2,000.

More than schools

Most of the students were from Bouake, Ivory Coast's second-largest city some 200 miles north of Abidjan and the stronghold of rebels who control the northern half of the country.

Nearly all government and private services -- including schools, hospitals and banks -- have been closed in the rebel-held north since fighting began after a failed attempt to oust President Laurent Gbagbo in September.

The war was declared over July 4, and a power-sharing government has met several times. The government hopes to disarm the rebels, who still hold the north despite a peace accord signed by both sides.

The protesting students, who claimed to be representing nearly 14,000 of their peers from northern Ivory Coast, said they wanted compensation of about $500 each for having missed classes this past year.

A student representative was allowed into the presidential palace to speak with government officials.

French property guarded

On Tuesday, French-run establishments appeared to be well-guarded by police to prevent a replay of violence this year when protests by tens and thousands of people targeted foreigners and Western businesses in Abidjan.

France has nearly 4,000 soldiers in Ivory Coast, a former French colony. The French forces are working with 1,200 regional peacekeepers to guard cease-fire lines that separate the north from the Gbagbo-loyal south.

Ivory Coast, the world's top producer of cocoa, was once West Africa's bastion of peace and stability. Its security was shattered by a 1999 coup, and the country has remained volatile ever since.