WORLD IN BRIEF : IVORY COAST : Police Use Tear Gas, Clubs on Marchers

Security forces charged opposition party marchers, clubbing the crowd with batons and firing tear gas to break up a rally near the residence of President Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan. Several hundred demonstrators briefly sought refuge in the courtyard of the French Embassy, climbing its walls to escape police. Some of the marchers shouted for the resignation of Houphouet-Boigny, who has ruled this West African nation since its independence from France in 1960. Defense Minister Jean Konan Banny had issued a warning that security forces would “use all necessary measures” to prevent the opposition parties from threatening public order.