2 soldiers killed as Ivory Coast unrest continues over pay

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — This month's unrest in Ivory Coast turned deadly for the first time Tuesday, as a witness said two soldiers were killed in clashes in the capital, Yamoussoukro. The deaths and gunfire by other security forces was a warning that the government had not yet calmed anger that began Jan. 6 with a mutiny.

The two soldiers were part of a group demanding hefty bonuses similar to those the government agreed to give mutineers in Bouake, the country's second-largest city, last week, said Charly Bagnon, a local radio journalist who confirmed the deaths at the morgue.

Earlier in the day the group of soldiers, wearing hoods over their faces, drove through Yamoussoukro's streets, firing into the air and forcing many businesses to close. They later exchanged fire with a group of soldiers brought in to put down the unrest, Bagnon said.

Also on Tuesday, military police opened fire in several cities, witnesses said. Their demands were not immediately clear.

The mutiny that began Jan. 6 was led by former rebels who had backed President Alassane Ouattara in a 2011 postelection conflict that claimed more than 3,000 lives. Among the mutineers' demands were bonuses of nearly $20,000 for more than 8,000 fighters.

On Friday, the mutineers said the government had agreed to pay them, and at least some soldiers in Bouake began receiving bank transfers Monday and Tuesday. The government has said only that a deal was reached, declining to confirm specifics.

The violence in Yamoussoukro began Monday night when soldiers raided an armory at a training academy, according to an expert on the Ivorian army, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to describe his conversations with the soldiers.

He said the soldiers behind the raid and subsequent shooting were former rebels who were not included in the deal reached Friday.

Augustin Thiam, the governor of Yamoussoukro, met with soldiers for several hours on Tuesday but did not say whether any conclusions had been reached.

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