Were Belarusians at the controls when Ivorian aircraft attacked a French base, killing 10?

As thousands of foreigners streamed out of Ivory Coast in the wake of mob attacks and a government air raid on a French base, French and Belarusian officials gave dramatically differing statements on alleged Belarusian involvement in the troubled West African state. The first report of Belarusian citizens allegedly being involved in the renewed outbreak of conflict in the country appeared in Le Monde. On 5 November, the newspaper reported that a rebel camp in the town of Korhogo had been raided by government fighter jets said to be flown by Belarusian pilots. The following day, government SU-25 jets bombed a French military camp in Bouake, killing nine French peacekeepers and a U.S. civilian. The government said the strike was targeted at rebel positions. France retaliated swiftly with a raid that wiped out Ivory Coast's small air force of two functioning and two grounded SU-25s and six Mi-24 and Mi-8 attack helicopters. All the craft had been acquired from Belarus, Le Monde reported. French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie charged on 9 November that the fatal attack on French peacekeepers was a deliberate act, and that the Ivorian aircraft were flown by “mercenaries from Belarus,” repeating a claim made the previous day. General Charles Wald, the deputy commander of the U.S. European Command, also said Belarusians had piloted the SU-25s, AFP reported. He praised the French for taking "the exact right action" in retaliation for the raid. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Belarusian service reported that a spokesperson for the Ivorian Defense Ministry confirmed that Belarusians were employed as mechanics for the Ivory Coast Air Force, but he denied any direct participation by Belarusian citizens in the 6 November raid, stating that the jets were piloted by Ivorians. Belarusian authorities ruled out any official link to the incidents in Africa. Defense Ministry spokesperson Colonel Leanid Zakharanka told Interfax on 10 November that there were no Belarusian military personnel in Ivory Coast. He said it was also unlikely that any retired Belarusian officer had been involved in fighting there.