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A mutiny by soldiers in Ivory Coast appears to have spread to the country’s commercial capital, Abidjan.
Gunfire was heard inside a base for elite troops there. The mutiny began on Friday in the second-largest city, Bouake, before spreading elsewhere.
On Saturday firing was heard at the military base in Akouedo, on the eastern edge of Abidjan, which is home to parachute commandos that are considered loyal to President Alassane Ouattara.
Similar protests have been reported in the cities of Man, Daloa, Daoukro, Odienne and Korhogo.
Some of the mutineers are thought to be former rebels who joined the army after the conflict. The rebels were based in Bouake.
Defence Minister Alain-Richard Donwahi, who is meeting soldiers who have seized the city, has promised to “find solutions to this situation, which is understandable but regrettable”.
The rebels swept into Abidjan from Bouake in 2011, helping Mr Ouattara take power after his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo – now on trial at the International Criminal Court – refused to accept defeat in elections the previous year.
BBC reports that the defence minister has gone to Bouake to discuss the protesters’ demands, which are reportedly over pay.
An MP in the city said the soldiers wanted $8,000 and a house each.