despite denials -- that Paris favours the rebels in the north. "The French can't take him away. We will stay here for two months if that's what it takes," said Gbayoro Gbegbe, 19, looking tired after spending the night in the street. Ivorian government medical coordinator Richard Kadio said on Wednesday 54 people had been shot dead by French troops around the country during the violence and 1,266 had been injured. The country's human rights minister, Victorine Wodie, called for an international probe into the deaths. France, which has deployed troops in Abidjan and taken control of the airport, flew out some 800 French and other foreign nationals in a first wave of evacuations on Wednesday. Many other Western states are making similar arrangements. Britain said it was sending about 300 soldiers and a Royal Navy ship to evacuate some 400 of its nationals and others. --More 0100 Local Time 2200 GMT
