Disgruntled soldiers mutiny in three Ivory Coast cities over pay

'They are heavily armed and parading through the city of Daloa'

The government has asked for the soldiers to return to their barracks (Reuters)

Soldiers have launched mutinies in three cities across Ivory Coast, authorities have said, demanding higher pay and bringing the threat of unrest back to Africa’s fastest-growing economy.

Gunfire rang out across Bouake, the second-largest city in the west African nation, starting around 1am local time on Friday, according to residents. Similar mutinies erupted later in Daloa, in the central region, and Korhogo in the north.

“They are heavily armed and parading through the city of Daloa,” said Karim Sanogo, a student who lives there. “Security forces have abandoned their posts. Everyone has returned home to seek shelter.”

Defence Minister Alain Donwahi said discussions were under way with the soldiers, and he called on all troops to return to their barracks.

Military sources had said demobilised combatants – mainly former rebels from the decade-long conflict – were behind the uprising, during which weapons were looted from Bouake’s police stations. But authorities and a legislator later blamed soldiers on active duty.

“None of them are demobilised fighters,” Bema Fofana, a member of parliament representing Bouake, told Reuters after speaking to several of the soldiers. “There are fewer than 200 of them that I saw.”

Mr Fofana said the soldiers were demanding five million CFA francs (£6,550) each, as well as a house.

The former French colony’s reputation as a model of political stability in a region better known for conflict was shattered after its first coup in 1999. The crisis reached rock-bottom in 2002, when fighting erupted in skyscraper-lined Abidjan.

That was the start of a civil war that ended months later in a stalemate that left rebels in control of the northern half of the country, with their stronghold in Bouake.

A breakthrough came in 2007 with a peace deal that saw rebel leader Guillaume Soro appointed prime minister in a unity government.

The soldiers, however, now say not all the promises made in that 2007 agreement were implemented.

In more recent unrest, some 3,000 people died in violence after longtime President Laurent Gbagbo lost the 2010 presidential election and then refused to cede power to victor Alassane Ouattara. After a military intervention, Mr Ouattara became president and Mr Gbagbo now faces charges at the International Criminal Court.

France has a military presence in Ivory Coast, with most of its 900 troops stationed in and near Abidjan. It was not immediately known whether the Ivory Coast government had asked for their help Friday in calming the situation, as it has in the past.

Associated Press