A policeman in Ivory Coast who was told by his boss to 'get rid' of a French journalist took the instruction literally and shot him dead.
Jean Helene, 48, who worked for a radio station, was waiting outside the police headquarters in the capital, Abidjan, to interview a group of opposition activists.
A diplomat at the French embassy in Abidjan said: 'He had asked the policeman to tell his superiors that he was waiting to interview the dissidents who were about to be released.
'A superior officer told the policeman to 'get rid of' the waiting journalist, meaning that he should tell him to move on. Instead, the policeman took him literally, went outside and shot Helene.'
The policeman was disarmed and arrested by his colleagues and is being questioned. President Jacques Chirac described the killing as an 'assassination' and called for 'a full and immediate inquiry' by the Ivory Coast authorities.