Israel asks French help evacuating Ivory Coast

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Thursday Israel had asked for French help to evacuate its diplomats in Ivory Coast, where the forces of rival presidential claimants Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara are locked in fighting.

"We have received numerous requests. Just a few moments ago I had Israel's foreign minister on the telephone who asked for Licorne's assistance in evacuating its diplomats," Juppe told the Senate upper house, referring to France's forces in Ivory Coast that back up UN peacemakers there. (Reuters)