Soldiers launch mutinies in 3 Ivory Coast cities over pay
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE-In this file photo taken Friday, Oct. 23, 2015, Ivory Coast troops provide security during an election rally of Ivory Coast incumbent President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Some unidentified soldiers have launched mutinies in three cities across this West African country on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, demanding higher pay and bringing the threat of unrest back to Africa's fastest-growing economy, authorities said. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam, File) (The Associated Press)
Authorities in Ivory Coast say soldiers have launched mutinies in three cities across this West African country.
The unrest erupted early Friday in the second-largest city, Bouake, when the soldiers began demanding higher pay. Residents say there has been intermittent gunfire since around 1 a.m.
Similar mutinies erupted later Friday in Daloa and Korhogo. Karim Sanogo, a student in Daloa, says heavily armed men are parading through town and security forces have abandoned their posts.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bouake was the stronghold of the rebel-controlled north throughout the country's civil war. Many of those fighters have been integrated into Ivory Coast's army.
The soldiers, however, say not all the promises made in a 2007 agreement were implemented.