Bullets fly as disgruntled former soldiers seize big city in Ivory Coast
Abidjan — Demobilised soldiers seized Ivory Coast’s second-largest city on Friday and gunfire erupted at a military camp in another town. Military sources said reinforcements had been sent to manage the uprising. The unrest comes weeks after parliamentary elections viewed as a step towards cementing stability in the West African nation emerging from a 2002-11 political crisis as one of the continent’s rising stars. Gunfire was heard from about 2am in Bouake, a city of about 500,000 residents in the centre of the country. Sporadic shooting continued into the late morning. Military sources said demobilised soldiers — mainly former rebels from the decade-long conflict — broke into police stations across the city, looting weapons before taking up positions at city entry points. "The city is under the control of former soldiers," said an army officer by telephone from Bouake. They had taken the second in command at the city’s main military base hostage. "There are many of them at the nor...
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