(The Guardian)- Soldiers in Bouaké, Ivory Coast have opened fire and trapped the country’s defence minister inside a local official’s house shortly after a deal to end a two-day mutiny appeared to have been agreed, a Reuters witness said.
The turn of events came just an hour and a half after President Alassane Ouattara announced he had agreed to the soldiers’ demands for bonus payments and improved living standards.
In addition to defence minister Alain-Richard Donwahi, the deputy commander of the elite Republican Guard, the mayor of Bouaké and other local officials as well as journalists were trapped inside the building.
A crowd of angry soldiers gathered outside the house, and the Reuters reporter said he heard some demand their bonuses be paid immediately, not next week.
The uprising began early on Friday when the soldiers – mainly former rebel fighters demanding wage increases and bonuses – seized Bouaké, a city of 530,000 inhabitants 220 miles north of the capital Abidjan.
Over the next two days, soldiers at military camps in cities and towns – including Abidjan – joined the mutiny.
Speaking to his government ministers and reporters, Ouattara said he agreed to take into account the soldiers’ grievances concerning bonus payments, as well as living and working conditions.
“I would like to say that this manner of making demands is not appropriate,” said Ouattara. “It tarnishes the image of our country after all our efforts to revive the economy.”
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