WORSE THAN WAR

More than 10,000 French and UN peacekeepers are in the Ivory Coast to stop ethnic clashes but the violence continues:

"The assailants entered the homes, killing and cutting the throats of the townspeople, using pistols and rifles and knives," said Administrative Reform Minister Eric Kahe, speaking to AFP.

He said 11 people were burned alive in their homes, and witnesses said the attackers were traditional hunters from the north.

Many of the victims were elderly or children, according to a local pastor.

"I saw one woman, her whole mouth had been torn apart and her body covered with blows from a machete," Djo Bi of the Baptist Protestant Church in Duekoue told AFP.

"People have been coming to the church all day with their belongings, afraid to spend one more minute in their homes."

An official with Medecins Sans Frontieres said frightened children have been trickling in all day.

"What's happening here is worse than war," she said.

Peacekeepers? There is no peace to keep.