ABIDJAN, Nov. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- The African Union (AU) on Sunday mandated South African President Thabo Mbeki to resolve the crisisin Cote d'Ivoire in an effort to stop the situation in the volatile country from escalating.

    "President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa has been mandated to undertake an urgent mission in consultation with the chairperson of the AU commission, with a view to promoting a political solution," the AU said in a communique on Sunday.

    The AU also said it backs the French government on the crisis of Cote d'Ivoire, following the United Nations condemnation of theattack that killed nine French soldiers.

    The Ivoirian government's air strike on Saturday killed nine French soldiers and a US civilian in Bouake in the center of the west African country, and a clash between French troops and thousands of demonstrators in the country left at least three dead.

    After an emergency meeting, the United Nations Security Councilon Saturday issued a statement condemning the attacks, branding them as "violations" of a cease-fire reached last year.

    The UN also gave France the greenlight to pursue a tough line in Cote d'Ivoire, saying that French and UN forces in Cote d'Ivoire "are authorized to use all necessary means to carry out fully" their security council mandate.

    Receiving the go-ahead, French forces destroyed two warplanes and at least three army helicopters after President Jacques Chiracordered the destruction of all Cote d'Ivoire's war planes involvedin cease-fire violations in the country.

    France also dispatched Mirage fighter jets, 300 troops and 60 gendarmerie police to the country as reinforcements, in addition to the 3,00 men announced earlier to protect some 15,000 French citizens in the Ivorian economic capital of Abidjan.

    France is not in any way to destabilize Cote d'Iovire and its institutions or to take sides, but to preserve its constitutional legality, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Sunday.

    "That is all that this is about, ensuring security. Security not destabilization, " the minister said in a statement. He calledfor restoration of peace in the country, saying "France's only objective is peace. "

    In an interview with a French TV station Sunday, Barnier also ruled out any plan to evacuate the 15,000 French citizens from thecountry, noting that the top priority for now is to restore peace and reason in the country.

    The minister also revealed that French President Jacques Chirachad already called his Cote d'Ivoire counterpart Laurent Gbagbo, expressing his hope for an earlier restoration of peace in the country.

    Clashes broke out Saturday between French and Ivorian government forces, killing nine French soldiers and injuring 22 others.

    Ivorian parliament speaker Mamadou Koulibaly affirmed earlier on Sunday on French Inter radio that some 30 Ivorians were killed and 100 others injured by French forces. But French Defense Ministry denied the death toll.

    Currently, about 4,000 French soldiers are deployed in Cote d'Ivoire to support UN peacekeepers in the country. Enditem