Ivory Coast announces deal to end standoff with soldiers
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BOUAKE- Ivory Coast announced a deal Friday night to end a standoff with soldiers who staged a mutiny last week, though the terms were not confirmed and it was unclear whether security would be fully restored in Africa's fastest-growing economy.
The deal was reached after tense negotiations in Bouake, the country's second-largest city, between soldiers and a delegation led by the defense minister, said government spokesman Bruno Kone.
In the hours before the deal was announced, hundreds of soldiers converged on the house where the negotiations were taking place, and gunfire erupted at multiple military bases in Abidjan, the commercial capital.
The mutineers' demands included unpaid bonuses, higher salaries, faster promotions and improved living conditions. The bonuses amounted to nearly $20,000 each for more than 8,000 soldiers, according to several people who participated in the negotiations.
Officials would not confirm the terms of the deal, but one soldier, who insisted on anonymity, said the government had agreed to pay the bonuses in installments beginning with payments of over $8,000 to each soldier on Monday. If accurate, the resolution could end up costing the government over $150 million for the bonuses alone.
