Fresh firing in Ivory Coast

File photo - Ivorian troops pass a burnt vehicle near the Akouedo military camp in Abidjan.

File photo - Ivorian troops pass a burnt vehicle near the Akouedo military camp in Abidjan.

Published Aug 6, 2012

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Abidjan -

Fresh firing broke out at a military base in the Ivory Coast economic capital Abidjan early on Monday after five soldiers were killed in weekend attacks.

Small arms fire broke out at the Akouedo military base in the northern Cocody district around 4.00am, continuing for around two hours, residents said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Gunmen attacked a police station and an army post in Abidjan's Yopougon district in the early hours of Sunday, killing five soldiers.

Defence Minister Paul Koffi told AFP the attack was an apparent bid to free people who had been arrested the previous day.

Political tensions continue to spark violence in Ivory Coast despite the end of five months of fighting which followed the December 2010 elections, when ex-president Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede defeat at the ballot box to current leader Alassane Ouattara.

Ouattara's government has been trying to disarm and reintegrate fighters involved in both sides of the conflict into the Ivorian army to reduce the violence.

Gbagbo is currently facing charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. - Sapa-AFP

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