ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Some 300 United Nations peacekeeping troops from Bangladesh fled their camp in western Ivory Coast Wednesday after an armed battle with protesters.
U.N. military observer Capt. Gilles Combarieu said the protesters attacked the camp in Guiglo, 187 miles from Abidjan, early Wednesday, and the U.N. troops returned fire.
At least four of the protesters were killed, the BBC reported.
U.N. commanders decided to abandon the base and the peacekeepers were withdrawn to the demilitarized zone further north, Combarieu said.
Supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo are angry that international mediators have called for his parliament to step down, as its mandate has expired. Gbagbo's ruling Ivorian Popular Front accused the international community of carrying out a "constitutional coup d'etat."
The west African country has been split in two since a failed coup attempt in 2002.