France deployed troops in Ivory Coast's main city on Sunday to protect its citizens from mob violence which erupted after French forces destroyed most of the West African nation's small air force. French soldiers, who are based in the world's biggest cocoa grower to police a ceasefire between the government and rebels, targeted the aircraft after nine French peacekeepers were killed in a bombing raid on a rebel stronghold on Saturday. French helicopters clattered over the lagoon city of Abidjan on Sunday as troops with machine guns and armoured vehicles manned key junctions after a night of rioting and looting left buildings gutted and cars burned out. The former colonial power also flew hundreds more soldiers into Abidjan and took over the airport. But French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said there was no immediate plan to evacuate any of its 15,000 citizens living in Ivory Coast. French troops staged dramatic helicopter rescues to get foreigners out of their homes as mobs wielding machetes and sticks vented their anger at the destruction of the aircraft, attacking foreigners and foreign-owned businesses. "I have shoes, jeans, a shirt, watch and wedding ring. Everything else has gone," said British national Charles Sugden, who scrambled into a hovering helicopter to get to a French base as youths burst on to the roof of his apartment block. --More 0057 Local Time 2157 GMT
