ABIDJAN, September 22 (IslamOnline & News ) - Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan was calm but tense Sunday, September 22, amid tight security as additional French troops flew in to protect their compatriots and other foreigners following a violent coup bid.

Police and security forces were omnipresent in the west African country's economic hub and de facto capital and had put up barricades across main roads. Supermarkets were full of shoppers stocking up on food and essentials, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

On the streets of several working-class districts young boys played football on the road. There were long lines of cars at petrol stations and cars surged onto the roads after the 14-hour nightly curfew, in force till overnight Tuesday-Wednesday, ended at 8:00 a.m. (0800 GMT).

An AFP correspondent saw policemen kicking and beating two unidentified men with rifle butts near the downtown Plateau area which houses the presidency, the National Assembly and important government offices.

They waved away passers-by and cars and did not allow them to stop to see what was happening.

In the city's upmarket Cocody quarter, smoke still spiraled from the remains of the house of opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, torched in the small hours of Sunday by unidentified attackers.

Ouattara, who has sought refuge with the French ambassador, accused the security forces of burning down his house.

The road leading to the house, which is near President Laurent Gbagbo's official residence, was blocked and civilian cars were not allowed to pass through.

Meanwhile, French soldiers flew into Abidjan on Sunday to reinforce a 600-strong garrison deployed here.

Three French army Cougar helicopters, designed to carry commandos and evacuate wounded, were standing by at Abidjan airport.

The attempted coup, which erupted Thursday, September 19, was suppressed the same day in Abidjan at a cost of 270 lives, but rebel soldiers on Sunday still held the country's second city Bouake, in the center, and the northern town of Korhogo.