Ivorian military unrest spreads
2008-03-26 08:45
Abidjan - Protests from disgruntled Ivorian soldiers spread to a second town on Tuesday after at least one civilian was killed by indiscriminate gunfire the day before, police and local militia said.
The death took place Monday in the western garrison town of Duekoue after hundreds of angry soldiers fired into the air to protest the killing of a soldier at his home in an apparent armed robbery, a police chief told UN radio.
The soldier's death overnight on Sunday came on top of simmering resentment about living conditions for the military during a tricky period of post-war disarmament.
A local militia chief, known as "Lieutenant Colombo," said that 100 soldiers had taken control of Duekoue in violence that had left a dozen people injured in all.
Violence spreads into Guiglo
The discontentment spread to neighbouring military bases as soldiers showed their anger at government policy towards troops no longer active on the frontline.
The violence spread on Tuesday into nearby Guiglo with soldiers releasing sporadic volleys through the night before erecting barricades around their quarters, police chief Alphone Danon Djedje said.
The protests had energised the region's entire military population, who had been complaining of poor living quarters ever since army re-integration after a peace deal between government and rebel forces, he said.
Duekoue is situated near the old frontline between government positions and troops loyal to former rebel leader Guillaume Soro, appointed prime minister in the power-sharing agreement with President Laurent Gbagbo signed in March.
Similar protests erupted in the tense west of the Ivory Coast in November 2007.