troops from Ivory Coast Dakar, Senegal, Feb 3, SPA -- French President Jacques Chirac saidhe would withdraw French troops deployed in war-divided Ivory Coast if the government in the former colony requested the move. "France is not waging a war of occupation. If they wantus to stay there, we will stay," Chirac said Wednesday atthe start of a two-day visit to Senegal. But "we have nointention of staying if we are not wanted." Rebels seized the northern half of Ivory Coast after afailed 2002 coup attempt. Government troops in the southreignited the West African nation's long-stagnant civil warfor several days in November, launching bombing runsagainst rebel targets, including one that killed nineFrench peacekeepers. France responded swiftly, destroying Ivory Coast's tinyair force in a move that sparked waves of anti-French, andanti-foreigner, violence in the south and put relationsbetween France and Ivory Coast at an all-time low. France has 4,000 troops stationed in the country, helpingto bolster security along with 6,000 U.N. peacekeepers. Chirac called for a renewed effort to solve the crisis inIvory Coast peacefully, saying there could be no militarysolution to the country's simmering conflict. "The key now is to achieve political stability and revivethe political situation through elections. A militarysolution is crazy," Chirac said, but added that "today, Idon't see any real effort to prepare or organize elections,and that worries me a bit." "The Ivory Coast, it's a very great sadness for manyAfricans and the French people," he said. Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade lauded France'sintervention, saying "the arrival of French troops hadprevented a massacre in Ivory Coast" by doing so. Regarding Iran's nuclear program, Chirac said he hoped fora peaceful solution that would see Iran drop completely itsmilitary technology.--SPA1439 Local Time 1139 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/236511