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The National Armed Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (French: Forces armées nationales de Côte d'Ivoire; FANCI) is the armed forces of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). It is headed by the chief of staff and commander of the FANCI.

Military regions

In 1987 Côte d'Ivoire was divided into five military regions, each commanded by a colonel:^[1]

• The army had the majority of its forces in the First Military Region concentrated in and around Abidjan, its principal units there being 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 is assigned one infantry battalion.
• The Third Military Region was headquartered in Bouaké and is home to an artillery, an infantry, and an engineer battalion (however rebels currently control this city).
• The Fourth Military Region maintained only a Territorial Defense Company headquartered in Korhogo ( however rebels currently control this city).
• The fifth region was the Western Operational Zone, a temporary command created to respond to the security threat caused by the civil war in neighboring Liberia.

Gendarmerie

The gendarmerie is roughly equivalent in size to the army. It is a national police force which is responsible for territorial security, especially in rural areas. In times of national crisis the gendarmerie could be used to reinforce the army. The gendarmerie is commanded by a colonel-major and comprises four Legions, each corresponding to one of the four numbered military regions, minus the temporary military operational zone on the western border.

Navy

Côte d'Ivoire has a brown-water navy whose mission is coastal surveillance and security for the nation's 340-mile coastline.

• 1 Patra patrol craft - 147 tons full load - commissioned 1978
• 2 CTM LCM - 150t - commissioned 1968
• 2 Rodman 890 fishery protection - commissioned 1997

Air Force

"Ivory Coast seethes after attack". BBC News. 2004-11-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3989127.stm. Retrieved 2007-10-10.  </ref>

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service[2]	Notes
Antonov An-32	Ukraine	tactical transport		1
Cessna 421 Golden Eagle	United States	utility		1
Eurocopter SA 365 Dauphin	France	utility helicopter	SA 365C	2
Gulfstream III	United States	VIP		1
Mil Mi-24	Russia	attack helicopter		1
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23	Bulgaria	fighter		2	[1]

References

Further Reading

• http://www.iss.co.za/af/profiles/IvoryCoast/SecInfo.html
• 'Old Rivalries stall Cote d'Ivoire army merger,' Jane's Defence Weekly, 12 November 2008, p.23