Bouake – Calm has been restored on the streets of the main cities of the Ivory Coast following two days of unrest in the wake of a mutiny by Ivorian troops over bonuses and working conditions.
Over the weekend gunfire ceased, traffic resumed and shops reopened in the country's second largest city Bouake, from where the rebellion began, as well as in the capital and commercial hub Abidjan.
The calm followed a deal struck between the mutinous soldiers and the government on Saturday, with President Alassane Ouattara appearing on national TV to announce the deal, the BBC reported on Sunday.
"I confirm that I have agreed to take into account the demands of the soldiers over bonuses and better working conditions," he said.
He also, however, criticised the rebellion.
Aside from better pay, the agreement is reported to include an amnesty for the mutineers.
The mutiny began on Friday in Bouake with soldiers firing rocket launchers before taking over army headquarters in Abidjan.
The rebellion then spread to the cities of Man, Daloa, Daoukro, Odienne and Korhogo.
During the mutiny the soldiers also took Defence Minister Alain-Richard Donwahi hostage for two hours after he had gone to Bouake to negotiate with the protesters.
Following the negotiated settlement, fears of a resurgence of the violence, which gripped the West African country during the 10-year civil war and only ended in 2011, were assuaged.
It is thought that some of the mutineers were former rebels who joined the army after sweeping into Abidjan and Bouake in 2011, helping Ouattara take power after his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo – who is now on trial at the International Criminal Court at the Hague – refused to accept the results of the 2010 elections.