Gunshots reported in Ivory Coast's major cities

By Fulbert Yao

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast

Gunshots were heard early Monday morning in Ivory Coast's major cities as a military operation continued to end a mutiny that started last Thursday, residents told Anadolu Agency.

The soldiers, loyal to the army, paraded on motorbikes and fired in the air to prevent access to Abidjan's economic district of Le Plateau, eye-witnesses said.

Gunshots were also reported in Bouake, Korhogo and Bondoukou cities.

A group of soldiers took to the streets in the country's second city of Bouake last Thursday night, in what was thought to be an army mutiny over the payment of bonuses promised in 2007.

The mutineers demanded the payment of 12 million CFA francs ($24,000) each. The first instalment of 5 million CFA francs ($8,400) was paid in January, with the rest scheduled to be paid in May.

The mutiny left one dead and injured at least seven others in Bouake, witnesses told Anadolu Agency.

Calm had returned to Ivory Coast on Sunday after Sekou Toure, the military chief of staff, called for calm in a statement aired on state TV.

He said that a military operation was underway to restore order in the cities that were in the hands of the soldiers. Toure also promised ''severe disciplinary sanctions'' against soldiers if they did not end the riot.

The mutineers backed President Alassane Ouattara in 2011 to take power.