ABIDJAN, March 6 (Reuters) - French peacekeepers killed one man and injured two others in Ivory Coast when they fired at a truck that failed to stop at a roadblock in the buffer zone separating rebels from government troops, the French army said on Tuesday.

Soldiers opened fire after the truck charged through the first section of the three-tier, temporary barrage on Monday and tried to ram through the second blockade despite warning shots fired at its tyres.

"The vehicle refused to stop and forced its way through. The soldiers shot at the cabin in conformity with legal procedures for the use of arms," French army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christian Rascle told Reuters.

"Unfortunately one died several minutes later and two were slightly injured by bullets or shrapnel," he said.

The temporary checkpoint lies between the western towns of Duekoue and Bangolo in a buffer zone policed by U.N. and French peacekeepers which separates rebel forces in the north of the country from government troops in the south.

The two injured were treated at a hospital run by aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres in the rebel-held north. U.N. police officers were investigating the incident.

The world's top cocoa grower has been divided since a 2002-2003 civil war grew out of a failed coup to oust President Laurent Gbagbo.

Gbagbo and the rebel New Forces this week agreed a new peace deal which foresees reunification and elections within 10 months, the first such home-grown agreement following four years of failed international efforts to reunite the country.

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