Ivorians killed in ambush on UN peacekeepers

Ivorians killed in ambush on UN peacekeepers

AT least eight civilians died in the ambush in south-west Ivory Coast on Friday which also left seven UN peacekeepers dead, the UN says.

The attack near Liberia's border has sparked an "immediate" exodus, Anouk Desgroseilliers told AFP news agency.

The government says it will launch a hunt on Monday to find the perpetrators of the ambush - believed to be the first to target UN troops directly.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said he was "outraged" by the deaths.

UN peacekeepers were deployed to Ivory Coast in 2004 to help end the country's civil war and have stayed through the country's recent political crisis.

Mr Ban offered his "deepest condolences" to the government of Niger and urged the Ivorian government to "identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable".

The peacekeepers were patrolling in an area between the villages of Tai and Para after hearing rumours of an imminent attack on communities in the region, UN officials said.

The Ivorian government says Ivorian soldiers were also killed, but there are no details.

Anouk Desgroseilliers, a spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told AFP that a woman was among at least eight civilians killed in the raids.

"Hundreds of people have arrived in Tai and one can imagine that thousands of others are on the road," she said. Thirty-five families had already crossed into