Côte d’Ivoire: Military operation launched to quash mutiny, gunfire erupts in two cities
The Côte d’Ivoire has launched a military operation to “re-establish order” after mutinying soldiers placed some of the country’s largest cities on lockdown.
The mutineers, most of them former rebel fighters who fought to bring President Alassane Quattara to power in the civil-war, have sealed off the country’s second-largest city, Bouaké.
Reports have also said that the army has used gunfire to break up any protests against the revolt.
According to Reuters, heavy gunfire erupted in Abidjan and Bouaké as the military said it pressed its operation to quash the mutiny.
Residents also reported gunfire in the port city and major cocoa hub of San Pedro.
As loyalist soldiers advanced on Bouaké on Sunday, the Military Chief of Staff General Sekou Toure issued a statement announcing the new offensive.
“These acts of an extreme seriousness are contrary to the mission of protection assigned to the armed forces,” the statement said. “As a result, a military operation is under way to re-establish order.”
Nine people have so far been injured amid increasing tensions, with six people wounded by gunfire on Sunday, and one of three protesters shot and wounded on Saturday dying of his wounds.
The mutineers have said that they will not surrender, and are ready to fight.
“They asked us to lay down our arms and surrender. We refused and demand our money … We are waiting for them,” Sergeant Seydou Kone told the Reuters.
The revolt has brought parts of the country to a halt. Over 200 trucks were stranded on the roadside after the soldiers sealed off the southern entrance to Bouaké.
A Reuters team traveling from the capital Yamoussoukro toward Bouaké, saw only a handful of loyalist military vehicles, a day after the head of the army said troops were being sent there to “re-establish order”.
Most of a large column of troops spotted on Sunday evening appeared to have withdrawn – suggesting any government operation was not yet fully under way.
Gunfire was heard overnight in Bouaké as well as at military camps in Abidjan. Shooting in both cities intensified before dawn.
“There was heavy shooting at the northern entrance to the city and in the city center. It’s calmed a bit but we’re still hearing gunfire,” said one Bouake resident. Other residents confirmed the shooting – according to Reuters.
