Ivory Coast government opens talks with disgruntled soldiers
(Reuters) - Ivory Coast's government opened negotiations with disgruntled soldiers on Wednesday, promising to pay back wages and overdue benefits to thousands of ex-rebels now serving in the army in a bid to quell unrest.
The soldiers, who on Tuesday erected barricades in the commercial capital Abidjan and the second city Bouake as well as in Korhogo, Odienne, and Daloa returned to barracks as they awaited the outcome of the meeting.
The world's top cocoa-producing state is still emerging from a decade of political upheaval and a 2011 civil war that saw French- and U.N.-backed rebels topple President Laurent Gbagbo.
The protesting troops were part of the New Forces rebellion that fought with U.N. and French backing to bring Gbagbo's rival, current President Alassane Ouattara, to power three years ago.
Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko, speaking on national television late on Tuesday, said the government had agreed to the soldiers' demands.
But following Wednesday's talks, which included Bakayoko and other government ministers, and the heads of the army and the national security council, the soldiers said that the process by which the payments would be made were still being finalized.
The negotiations did not involve another group of protesting soldiers who claimed they had been promised 5 million CFA francs($9,564) to help drive Gbagbo from power.
While Tuesday's demonstrations remained largely calm and most of the soldiers were unarmed, they sharpened towards nightfall, with sporadic gunfire in Bouake, Daloa and Korhogo.
In Bouake, the rebels' former stronghold, they looted the central police station overnight and unsuccessfully tried to break into the armoury.
Interior Minister Bakayoko promised that the protesters would not be punished.
