ambitious peacekeeping operation, the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI). UNOCI deployed on 4 April 2004 and helped France police the buffer zone between the belligerents. It had an initial authorised strength of 6,240 uniformed personnel, and was further expanded by Resolution 1609 in 2005 and Resolution 1682 in 2006. By mid-2007, it comprised just over 9,000 uniformed personnel from more than 40 countries. ECOWAS re-hatted its troops and handed over to UNOCI in April 2004, but, for practical and financial reasons, the Security Council allowed the French Operation Licorne to remain in place under its own chain of command. Outbreak of civil war Military rebellion: 19 September 2002 The "opening salvo" in the war was a rebellion against Gbagbo's government by Ivorian troops, who on 19 September 2002 executed a well-coordinated simultaneous attack on three Ivorian cities, including the largest city, Abidjan. It was reportedly planned by former pro-RDR or pro-Guéï dissidents in the military and in the Student Federation of Ivory Coast (FESCI, Fédération estudiantine et scolaire de Côte d'Ivoire). According to the International Crisis Group, the rebellion involved about 750 troops, but it reportedly originated in a smaller protest of about 200 soldiers, primarily from the north of the country, who objected to their demobilisation by the government, viewing it as ethnically motivated. A severe response from the government – which included demolishing the homes of immigrant workers accused of supporting the rebellion – was supported by ad hoc pro-government militias. Guéï was shot dead on the day of the rebellion – according to his family, while having lunch – "in circumstances that lead many to believe the government wanted him eliminated". After Ouattara's house was burned down, he took refuge at the French ambassador's residence; while former President Bédié was accommodated at the Canadian ambassador's residence. Having failed to take Abidjan, the rebels – who later identified themselves as the Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast (MPCI, Mouvement patriotique de Côte d'Ivoire) – retreated northwards, and they quickly established control over much of the north, including the cities of Bouaké and Korhogo. French intervention: 22 September 2002 Ivory Coast's former colonial power, France, was invested in the outcome of the conflict – given its significant business interests in Ivory Coast, and the presence of more than 20,000 French citizens there – but was extremely reluctant to intervene in support of Gbagbo. Nonetheless, on 22 September, France