Operation Golden Eagle, Ivory Coast

Duration
10 November 2004 - 17 November 2004
Military personnel
47
Fatalities
none
Decorations
none

A failed coup in Ivory Coast in September 2002 erupted into a civil war between north and south. In late October 2002, the rebels had control of the entire northern, mainly Islamic part of Ivory Coast.

Various attempts by the international community in 2003 and 2004 to mediate between the Ivorian government and the rebels came to nothing. Even after the rebels gained representation in the government, peace did not follow. The conflict continued and in November 2004 the situation in Abidjan, the country’s largest city, escalated when the government army clashed with French troops. The Netherlands then decided to close its embassy and repatriated the staff and all Dutch nationals in Ivory Coast.