Misplaced Pages

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71-556: The Ivorian military has its roots in the colonial armed forces of French West Africa , which were headquartered in Dakar , Senegal but possessed bases in several distinct military regions. Most Ivorian recruits who joined the colonial army were assigned to Senegalese units during this period, such as the Senegalese Tirailleurs . They served with distinction during both world wars, with 20,000 Ivorian soldiers fighting for

142-714: A Grand Council of French West Africa was created in Dakar. Two representatives from each colony, usually the Lieutenant Governor and a representative of the French population there, were seated. This council had only consultative powers over the office of the Governor General. The functioning of such bodies rested upon the Indigénat legal code of 1885. Despite this state of flux, and with the exception of

213-461: A United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (ONUCI) effort enforced a buffer zone between the south and the rebel-held north. President Gbagbo repeatedly demanded France assist him in crushing the rebel forces. France maintained it would not take sides in the civil war, but allowed Ivorian military aircraft to cross the buffer zone and attack rebel positions. In November 2004, an Ivorian pilot targeted

284-474: A definitive series depicting colonial soldiers, both in 1945. A series of 1947 featured 19 scenes and people of the various colonies, then during the 1950s there were about 30 various commemoratives . The last issue inscribed "Afrique occidentale française" and "RF" was the Human Rights issue of December 1958. It was followed by a Stamp Day issue on 21 March 1959, which omitted the federation's name and

355-536: A French base during an air strike on Bouaké, killing nine French soldiers. The French retaliated by launching a follow-up operation to destroy the Ivorian Air Force. In March 2011, a rebel coalition, the Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire , launched a renewed offensive on the south with French support, sparking a second civil war . The Ivorian army was quickly overwhelmed, and Gbagbo deposed by

426-436: A collapse in civil-military relations became evident when President Henri Konan Bédié dismissed popular general Robert Guéï on suspicion of disloyalty. Two years later, an army mutiny led by disgruntled recruits and junior officers escalated into a major coup d'état which ousted Bédié and installed Guéï in his place. Guéï subsequently stood for office during a subsequent presidential election , although he attempted to annul

497-733: A deputy to represent them in the French parliament in 1848–1852, 1871–1876, and 1879–1940. In 1914, the first African, Blaise Diagne , was elected as the deputy for Senegal in the French Parliament. In 1916, Diagne pushed a law through the National Assembly (loi Blaise Diagne) granting full citizenship to all residents of the so-called Four Communes. In return, he promised to help recruit millions of Africans to fight in World War I. Thereafter, all black Africans of Dakar , Gorée , Saint-Louis , and Rufisque could vote to send

568-1012: A million slaves in French West Africa fled from their masters to earlier homes. After the Fall of France in June 1940 and the two battles of Dakar against the Free French Forces in July and September 1940, authorities in West Africa declared allegiance to the Vichy regime , as did the colony of French Gabon in AEF. Gabon fell to Free France after the Battle of Gabon in November 1940, but West Africa remained under Vichy control until

639-516: A new financial settlement with the FRCI. A second mutiny occurred on January 7, 2017, with troops in Bouaké demanding higher salaries and improved living conditions; this resulted in a second financial settlement. The Ivorian army had three infantry battalions, an armoured battalion, an artillery battery, and seven specialist companies in 1993. The effective strength of the army was about 3,000 troops for

710-480: A new generation of French-educated Africans. On 21 October 1945 six Africans were elected, the Four Communes citizens chose Lamine Guèye , Senegal/Mauritania Léopold Sédar Senghor , Ivory Coast/Upper Volta Félix Houphouët-Boigny , Dahomey/Togo Sourou-Migan Apithy , Soudan-Niger Fily Dabo Sissoko , and Guinea Yacine Diallo . They were all re-elected to the 2nd Constituent Assembly on 2 June 1946. In 1946,

781-597: A number of decades, the size of the Ivorian National Gendarmerie remained consistent at around 4,000 to 5,000 personnel, supervised by a commandant. It underwent a massive expansion following the outbreak of the First Ivorian Civil War, increasing to about 12,000 personnel commanded by a major general. Gendarmes undergo training as cadets at a National Gendarmerie Academy. The National Gendarmerie maintains an investigative branch,

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852-663: A rapid intervention battalion (airborne), an infantry battalion, an armored battalion, and an air defense artillery battalion. The Second Military Region was located in Daloa and comprised one infantry battalion. The Third Military Region was headquartered in Bouaké and was home to an artillery, an infantry, and an engineer battalion. The Fourth Military Region maintained only a Territorial Defense Company headquartered in Korhogo The Fifth Military Region

923-630: A region including administrative districts of Katiola , Dabakala , Niakaramandougou and Tafiré . This zone is supervised by Touré Hervé Pélikan , called Vetcho , born in Katiola and Guillaume Soro's Chief of staff. This zone, which have Che Guevarra as an idol, is an ancient part of the Garde Républicaine , of the 3rd battalion of infantry and of the transmissions service of the headquaker's national armed forces (FANCI: Forces armées nationales de Côte d'Ivoire ). The Bouaké's zone covers

994-558: A representative to the French National Assembly. As the French pursued their part in the scramble for Africa in the 1880s and 1890s, they conquered large inland areas, and at first, ruled them as either a part of the Senegal colony or as independent entities. These conquered areas were usually governed by French Army officers, and dubbed "military territories". In the late 1890s, the French government began to rein in

1065-506: A union of Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea and Ivory Coast only, the federation was placed on a permanent footing in 1904. A governor-general was based first in Saint-Louis , then (from 1902) in Dakar (both in Senegal, the oldest French settlement). The AOF subsequently expanded to neighbouring French-ruled territories: Dahomey was added in 1904, after having been put under colonial tutelage in 1892; Mauritania in 1920, and when

1136-409: Is supervised by Losseni Fofana , called "Loss". Fofana is a former member of the paratrooper rapid reaction forces (Firpac: Force d'intervention rapide para-commando ), contingent 93/2A. The Touba's zone covers the region of Bafing , a bridge zone situated between Man and Odienné . The Touba's zone is supervised by Aboudrahamane Traoré , called "Dramane Touba", a former-noncommissioned officer of

1207-402: Is unknown whether any of these aircraft were truly operational. In addition, Deagel.com reported two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 attack aircraft. Ivory Coast has a brown-water navy whose mission is coastal surveillance and security for the nation's 340-mile coastline. The operational capability of the navy was severely degraded due to the diversion of resources to the army and air force during

1278-704: The Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942. Following World War II, the French government began a process of extending limited political rights in its colonies. In 1945 the French Provisional Government allocated ten seats to French West Africa in the new Constituent Assembly called to write a new French Constitution . Of these five would be elected by citizens (which only in the Four Communes could an African hope to win) and five by African subjects. The elections brought to prominence

1349-673: The Brigades de Recherches , which has been accused of various human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and unlawful detention. French West Africa French West Africa ( French : Afrique-Occidentale française , AOF ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa : Mauritania , Senegal , French Sudan (now Mali ), French Guinea (now Guinea ), Ivory Coast , Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso ), Dahomey (now Benin ) and Niger . The federation existed from 1895 until 1958. Its capital

1420-500: The Forces Nouvelles s armed forces. This zone, which supervise the "Anaconda" unit, is an ancient part of the "Société Omnisports de l'Armée" (SOA), the "Forces armées nationales de Côte d'Ivoire"'s (English: Armed forces of Côte d'Ivoire ) sportive team. The Man's zone covers the 18 mountains region ( Région des 18 Montagnes ), a zone reckoned to be difficult owing to its border position with Guinea and Liberia . The zone

1491-849: The French Army . World War II, and the passing of the Loi Cadre ( Overseas Reform Act of 1956 ), both radically restructured the administration of the colonies. French Togoland , seized by France from Germany in World War I, was for most of this period not nominally a colony but a Mandate territory . In theory, the Governors-General of the AOF reported directly to the Minister of Colonies in Paris, while individual colonies and territories reported only to Dakar. Originally created in 1895 as

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1562-629: The French Fifth Republic of 1958 again changed the structure of the colonies from the French Union to the French Community . Each territory was to become a "Protectorate", with the consultative assembly named a National Assembly. The Governor appointed by the French was renamed the "High Commissioner", and made head of state of each territory. The Assembly would name an African as Head of Government with advisory powers to

1633-512: The Library of Congress Country Study said that the Air Force's official name, Ivoirian Air Transport and Liaison Group ( Groupement Aérien de Transport et de Liaison —GATL), 'reflects an original mission focused more on logistics and transport rather than a combat force.' In 2004, following an air strikes on French peacekeepers by Ivorian forces, the French military destroyed all aircraft in

1704-1060: The Loi Lamine Guèye granted some limited citizenship rights to natives of the African colonies. The French Empire was renamed the French Union on 27 October 1946, when the new constitution of the Fourth Republic was established. In late 1946 under this new constitution, each territory was for the first time (excepting the Four Communes) able to elect local representatives, albeit on a limited franchise, to newly established General Councils. These elected bodies had only limited consultative powers, although they did approve local budgets. The Loi Cadre of 23 June 1956 brought universal suffrage to elections held after that date in all French African colonies. The first elections under universal suffrage in French West Africa were

1775-675: The Precepteur du marché trade inspectors, etc. Because of administrative practice and geographic isolation, Cercle Commanders had a tremendous amount of power over the lives of the Africans around them. The Cercle Commanders also had tremendous power over the economic and political life of their territories. Legally, all Africans outside the Four Communes of Senegal were "subjects" under the Indigénat legal code of 1885. This code gave summary powers to French administrators, including

1846-614: The 16th commander of the unit, and there are also reports from 2009 and 2011. Reported special forces units include: The Ivorian army has traditionally been equipped with French weapons, most of which were delivered in the 1980s under generous military grants from Paris. During Laurent Ghagbo's administration, large quantities of second-hand Soviet arms were acquired from Angola , Ukraine , and Belarus . After achieving independence from France in 1960, Ivory Coast maintained strong links with France through bilateral defence agreements. French training and operating techniques has been used since

1917-663: The AOF in conjunction with officers of the French Colonial Forces . Each colony of French West Africa was administered by a Lieutenant Governor, responsible to the Governor General in Dakar. Only the Governor-General received orders from Paris, via the Minister of Colonies . The Minister, with the approval of the French Chamber of Deputies ( French National Assembly after 1946), chose Lieutenants Governor and Governors-General. Beginning in 1946,

1988-402: The Air Force of Ivory Coast. President Gbagbo had ordered air strikes on Ivorian rebels. On 6 November 2004, at least one Ivorian Sukhoi Su-25 bomber attacked a French peacekeeping position in the rebel town of Bouaké at 1 pm, killing nine French soldiers and wounding 31. An American development worker, reported to have been a missionary , was also killed. The Ivorian government claimed

2059-659: The French Community to unilaterally change their own constitutions. Senegal and former French Sudan became the Mali Federation (1960–61), while Ivory Coast, Niger, Upper Volta and Dahomey subsequently formed the short-lived Sahel-Benin Union , later the Conseil de l'Entente . The administrative structure of French colonial possessions in West Africa, while more homogeneous than neighboring British possessions ,

2130-406: The French authorities started to enforce anti-slavery laws against indigenous slave owners in territories under French control due to pressure from French abolitionists: the laws against slave trade were enforced, and fugitive slaves were not returned to their owners. In 1905, the French officially abolished slavery in most of French West Africa. From 1906 to 1911, as emancipation progressed, over

2201-536: The French during World War I and another 30,000 during World War II . In 1950, the French government began the process of setting up a specific defence force for the colony, consisting of four infantry companies and a light armoured unit. The Ivory Coast became independent on 7 August 1960. In April 1961, the new government signed the Franco-Ivorian Technical Military Assistance Accord with France, which compelled

Armed Forces of the Republic of Ivory Coast - Misplaced Pages Continue

2272-554: The French force, previously over 5,000 strong, is roughly 700, and consists of Licorne headquarters, Battalion Licorne (BATLIC), seemingly made up of elements of the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment and the Régiment d'infanterie-chars de marine , and a helicopter detachment. The United Nations has maintained the peacekeeping mission ONUCI in the country since 2004. On 28 February 2011 ONUCI consisted of 7,568 troops, 177 military observers, and numerous international civilians and Police;

2343-586: The French found in the coastal areas of the Rivières du Sud colony in the 1880s, modern Guinea. The Canton, then, was much smaller than, and qualitatively different from, the pre-colonial states of the Sahel (such as the Toucouleur Empire ) which the French would later conquer. They were styled "Chefs de canton", "Chefs du Village", or occasionally taking the title of precolonial states assimilated by

2414-423: The French structure whole. This last was uncommon, but became more prevalent in the later colonial territories conquered, as fewer administrators were available to rule over larger, less populated territories with strong pre-colonial state structures. Where these larger polities resisted the French, they were often broken into small chiefdoms. Larger polities which presented a segment of the elite who would work with

2485-508: The French were maintained under new leadership. The Sultan of Agadez , the Sultan of Damagaram , and the Djermakoy of Dosso are examples of these large scale "Chefs de canton". But even these rulers were replaced by individuals handpicked by French authorities. Regardless of source, chiefs were given the right to arm small numbers of guards and made responsible for the collection of taxes,

2556-599: The Head of State. Legally, the federation ceased to exist after the 1958 French constitutional referendum to approve this French Community. All the colonies except Guinea voted to remain in the new structure. Guineans voted overwhelmingly for independence. In 1960, a further revision of the French constitution, compelled by the failure of the French Indochina War and the tensions in Algeria , allowed members of

2627-495: The Ivory Coast endured a second army mutiny, this time by 750 Muslim soldiers who seized Bouaké , citing religious discrimination and grievances against the predominantly Christian government. The mutineers later took control of most of the northern administrative regions, carrying out a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing and plunging the country into civil war . For a number of years, troops dispatched by France, ECOWAS, and

2698-700: The Military structure (outside Military areas, e.g.: modern Niger and Mauritania prior to the Second World War). Below the "Cercle Commander" were a series of African "Chefs de canton" and "Chefs du Village": "chiefs" appointed by the French and subject to removal by the Europeans. As well, the "Cercle Commander" made use of a large number of servants, employees, and African officers such as the "Gardes-de-cercle" police, any military units seconded to them by government authorities, and sub-administrators such as

2769-548: The Senegalese Communes, the administrative structure of French rule at the lower levels remained constant, based upon the Cercle system. This was the smallest unit of French political administration in French colonial Africa that was headed by a European officer. They might range in size, but French Sudan (modern Mali) consisted of less than a dozen Cercles for most of its existence. Thus, a Cercle Commander might be

2840-457: The absolute authority over hundreds of thousands of Africans. A Cercle consisted of several cantons , each of which in turn consisted of several villages, and was almost universal in France's African colonies from 1895 to 1946. The "Cercle Commander" (" commandant de cercle ") was subject to the authority of a District Commander, and the government of the colony above him, but was independent of

2911-541: The attack on the French was unintentional, but the French insisted that the attack had been deliberate. Several hours after the attack, French President Jacques Chirac ordered the destruction of the Ivorian air force and the seizure of Yamoussoukro airport. The French military performed an overland attack on the airport, destroying two Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack aircraft and three Mi-24 helicopter gunships . Two more military helicopters were destroyed during combat in

Armed Forces of the Republic of Ivory Coast - Misplaced Pages Continue

2982-690: The civil wars, and it remains incapable of conducting operations beyond the general vicinity of Abidjan. In 2014 they received three coastal defence vessels, and place an order for 30 inflatable boats and 10 patrol craft in 2018 from the Raidco Marine shipbuilders Early vessels were a second hand submarine chaser (SC 1337) from the United States, and three former French Navy boats (one patrol craft, with two fast attack boats ). A mutual defense accord signed with France in April 1961 provides for

3053-871: The depths of the Sahara , the Federation contained more than ten million inhabitants at its creation, and some 25 million at its dissolution. The AOF included all of the Senegal River valley, most of the Niger River valley, and most of the West African Sahel region. It also included tropical forests in Ivory Coast and Guinea, the Fouta Djallon highlands, and the Aïr Mountains of modern Niger. The French colonial territories in

3124-509: The election results when Laurent Gbagbo secured the popular vote. This triggered a civil revolt in Abidjan and two days of street battles between Gbagbo supporters and soldiers loyal to Guéï. Most of the armed forces remained neutral until the third day, when the army's elite units and the gendarmerie announced they would recognise Gbagbo as president of the republic. Guéï conceded defeat, going into exile on October 29, 2000. In September 2002,

3195-504: The establishment of the air force. The first equipment supplied included three Douglas C-47s and seven MH.1521 Broussard STOL utility aircraft in 1961. The first jet aircraft to enter service in October 1980 were six Alpha Jet CI light attack and advanced training aircraft; six more were ordered, but were subsequently cancelled. However, another was purchased in 1983. The 1979 air force had only transport and liaison aircraft. In 1987,

3266-478: The federation issued their own postage stamps until 1943. In many cases the stamps were inscribed with the name of the federation " Afrique Occidentale Française " as well as the colony's own name. In 1943 and 1944, stamps of Senegal and Mauritania were overprinted with new values and valid throughout French West Africa. The first issues printed specifically for the federation were the Eboue common design type and

3337-433: The first ten years of Ivorian independence, increasing to over 8,000 in the mid-1980s before declining steadily to about 5,500. It has always remained the largest branch of the armed forces. In 1987, the army was responsible for the country's five military regions, each of which was supervised by a colonel. The First Military Region controlled the concentration of forces in and around Abidjan , its principal units there being

3408-572: The group is transforming itself from an armed movement into a force that is "responsible, credible and capable of managing the affairs of state". The Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire are structured in 10 zones throughout the country. The Bouna's zone covers the region of Bouna , supervised by Mourou Ouatarra , a former-boxer of the Société Omnisports de l'Armée (SOA). This zone had drawn people's attention to an important contingent of women, called Atchengué , which means let's go (French: on y va ) in Mossi language . The Katiola's zone covers

3479-418: The initial recruits were drawn from the defunct colonial military establishment and had served in various French units, particularly the marine regiments. They were armed with old equipment donated by France, including two Max Holste Broussard monoplanes, a single Douglas DC-3 cargo aircraft, fifteen M8 Greyhound armoured cars, and even a SC-497-class submarine chaser . Conscription was instituted, although

3550-400: The large number of volunteers and low manpower requirements ensured it was only applied selectively. Some of the senior positions in the officer corps and Ministry of Defence continued to be held by French nationals. Since the Ivory Coast could ill afford to divert funds from its economic development programmes into the armed forces, and was already dependent on France for its external defence,

3621-411: The latter to assist with the formation of a new national military. It also authorised the continued presence of French troops based in Port-Bouët , and permitted the government to call on French military assistance in the event of external aggression or major internal unrest. By the end of 1962, the fledgling Ivorian armed forces had expanded rapidly into 5,000 soldiers attached to four battalions. Most of

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3692-562: The law, property ownership rights, rights to travel, dissent, or vote. The exception was the Four Communes of Senegal: those areas had been towns of the tiny Senegal Colony in 1848 when, at the abolition of slavery by the French Second Republic , all residents of France were granted equal political rights. Anyone able to prove they were born in these towns was legally French. They could vote in parliamentary elections, which had been previously dominated by white and mixed-race residents of Senegal. The Four Communes of Senegal were entitled to elect

3763-484: The military establishment remained quite modest from 1961 to 1974. Defence spending spiralled upwards between 1974 and 1987, and the number of personnel serving with the armed forces increased to 14,920 men. During this period, the air force and navy embarked on a significant modernisation campaign. An international merchant marine training academy was built in Abidjan and trained personnel from several Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) governments. In 1997,

3834-437: The mission had received helicopter and infantry reinforcement from UNMIL during the stand-off since the late 2010 elections which had been won by Alassane Ouattara . Since independence, the Ivory Coast has maintained a paramilitary gendarmerie force with a mandate to assist the police with law enforcement duties in the country's rural districts. However, it may also be deployed alongside the army to quell internal unrest. For

3905-442: The municipal elections of late 1956. On 31 March 1957, under universal suffrage, territorial Assembly elections were held in each of the eight colonies (Togo as a UN trust Territory was at this stage on a different trajectory). The leaders of the winning parties were appointed to the newly instituted positions of Vice-Presidents of the respective Governing Councils — French Colonial Governors remained as Presidents. The Constitution of

3976-509: The political coalition under which these parties operate is formally called the Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire, in fact the MJP has folded into the MPCI, and the MPCI stands in for the coalition itself. There is no active FNCI organization independent of the MPCI as of 2007. The phrase Forces Nouvelles remains a shorthand for the rebel side in the civil war. Following the signing of a peace agreement on March 4, 2007, New Forces leader Guillaume Soro became prime minister. According to Soro,

4047-415: The rebels. The Forces Nouvelles established a new national military, known as the Republican Forces of Ivory Coast (FRCI). Integration problems arising from the incorporation of various rebel factions into the FRCI, as well as former Gbagbo loyalists, continue to persist. In 2014, some army units launched an abortive mutiny over wage disputes. The crisis ended when the Ivorian political leadership agreed to

4118-468: The recruitment of forced labour, and the enforcement of "customary law". In general, Canton Chiefs served at the behest of their Cercle Commander and were left to see to their own affairs as long as calm was maintained and Administrative orders were carried out. With an area of some 4,689,000 square kilometres (1,810,000 sq mi) (mostly the desert or semi-desert interior of Mauritania , Sudan and Niger ) extending from Africa's westernmost point to

4189-427: The region around Bouaké and is supervised by Chérif Ousmane , called "Papa Guépard" (English: Daddy Cheetah ), from his unit's name "Les Guépards" (English: The Cheetahs ). This zone is an ancient part of the paratrooper rapid reaction forces (Firpac: Force d'intervention rapide para-commando ) and a Mathias Doué 's former-driver during the military transition supervised by Robert Guéï . The Mankono's zone covers

4260-462: The region around Mankono , a rather landlocked area, supervised by Ouattara Zoumana , a native of Ferkessédougou , also called "Lieutenant Zoua". This zone is an ancient part of the armed forces' school (EFA: École des forces armées ) of Bouaké . The Séguéla's zone covers a region including the administrative districts of Séguéla and Vavoua . The zone 5 is supervised by Ouattara Issiaka , called "Wattao", in addition Chief of staff's assistant in

4331-414: The restructuring of the people's lives he governed. The other official office particular to the local administration of French West Africa was the "Chief". These were Africans appointed by French officials for their loyalty to France, regardless of their rights to local power. These chiefs were assigned created territories based on the scale of a French Canton, as well as on the small scale tribal structures

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4402-430: The rights to arrest, try, punish and imprison subjects. It also gave French local authorities the right to requisition forced labour, usually limited to able-bodied men for a few weeks a year, but in practice having few restrictions. These "tools" included the Civilizing mission ideology common in the period following the First World War. Every new Cercle Commander might well bring with him vast projects for development and

4473-503: The skies over Abidjan . France then flew in 300 troops and put three Dassault Mirage F1 jet fighters based in nearby Gabon on standby. Since then, the Air Force of Ivory Coast has been rebuilt. In 2007, Aviation Week & Space Technology reported a total of six aircraft in service: one Antonov An-32 tactical transport, one Cessna 421 Golden Eagle utility aircraft, two Eurocopter SA 365 Dauphin helicopters, one Gulfstream IV VIP aircraft, and one Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter. It

4544-453: The stationing of French Armed Forces troops in Ivory Coast. The 43rd Marine Infantry Battalion of the French Army's Troupes de Marine ( 43e bataillon d'infanterie de marine ) was based in Port Bouet adjacent to the Abidjan Airport from 1979 and had more than 500 troops assigned until 2011, when it appears to have been disbanded. The French military also maintains a force as part of Opération Licorne . From summer 2011, Operation Licorne,

4615-444: The territorial expansion of its "officers on the ground", and transferred all the territories west of Gabon to a single governor based in Senegal, reporting directly to the Minister of Overseas Affairs. The first governor-general of Senegal was named in 1895, and in 1904, the territories he oversaw were formally named French West Africa (AOF). Gabon would later become the seat of its own federation French Equatorial Africa (AEF), which

4686-432: The territory of Upper Volta was divided from French Sudan by colonial decree in 1921, it automatically also entered the AOF. Between 1934 and 1937, the League of Nations Mandate territory of French Togoland was subsumed into Dahomey, and between its seizure from Germany in World War I and independence it was administered through the AOF. In 1904, both Mauritania and Niger were classed "Military Territories": ruled by

4757-444: Was Saint-Louis in Senegal until 1902, and then Dakar until the federation's collapse in 1960. With an area of 4,689,000 km , French West Africa was eight times the size of Metropolitan France . French Equatorial Africa had an additional area of 2,500,000 km . Until after World War II, almost none of the Africans living in the colonies of France were citizens of France. Rather, they were "French subjects," lacking rights before

4828-576: Was formerly known as the Western Operational Zone, a temporary command created to respond to the security threat caused by the First Liberian Civil War . By 2010, the system of military regions had been abolished. As of July 2011, General Soumaïla Bakayoko is the chief of staff of the army, and colonel-major Gervais Kouakou Kouassi is the Chief of the Gendarmerie. As of October 2011, previously active units around Abidjan reportedly included the: The 2nd Infantry Battalion appears to have been based at Daloa for some time. A 2003 change of command ushered in

4899-428: Was inscribed "CF" along with "Dakar-Abidjan" for use in Ivory Coast and Senegal. Forces Nouvelles de C%C3%B4te d%27Ivoire The Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire ( English : New Forces of Ivory Coast ; abbreviated FNCI , FN or FAFN ) is a political coalition that was formed in December 2002, in the wake of the first peace accords of the Ivorian Civil War . FNCI includes these political parties: While

4970-438: Was marked by variety and flux. Throughout the history of the AOF, individual colonies and military territories were reorganized numerous times, as was the Government General in Dakar. French Upper Volta was formed and parceled out to neighboring colonies twice. The future states of Mauritania and Niger remained out of the federation until the 1920s and 1940s respectively. They were Military Territories , directly controlled by

5041-460: Was to border its western neighbor on the modern boundary between Niger and Chad . France abolished slavery in French West Africa. This process was gradual. Slavery was formally illegal in all French land including their colonies from 1848, but this law only applied to French citizens in territories officially under French law, which meant that indigenous subjects without French citizenship were not obliged to obey. In French West Africa in 1903-1905,

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