Cote d'Ivoire: Abidjan army attack kills sevenBy BBC | Monday, August 6  2012 at  19:47

At least six soldiers have been killed in an attack by gunmen on an army base in Cote d'Ivoire's main city, Abidjan.

One assailant was also killed in the gun battle which lasted several hours in the Riviera district of Abidjan.

This follows the shooting of five soldiers on Sunday in an attack on a police station and an army checkpoint in Yopougon to the east of the city.

It is not clear who was behind the attack. Cote d'Ivoire is recovering from months of unrest after a disputed poll.

The two attacks are said to be the biggest in Abidjan since former President Laurent Gbagbo was ousted in April 2011.

An eyewitness described a gory scene at the Akouedo military camp, with bodies lying on the ground and blood spattered over the walls.

Corp Ousmane Kone, who took part in the fighting, told Reuters news agency that the attackers had made off with guns.

"They took lots of weapons, loaded them in a truck and drove off with them. They took AK-47s [automatic rifles], machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades," he said.

Two theories

"Akouedo was attacked from 03:30 (03:30 GMT) in the morning. The guards were able to react. The situation is under control," said the head of the national assembly, Guillaume Soro, on his Twitter account.

"The attackers just want to give the impression that the security situation in Cote d'Ivoire is precarious," he added.

The army is patrolling the areas east of Abidjan looking for the attackers.

Our reporter says while there is no firm information about the assailants, there are two main theories - they were either supporters of ousted former president Laurent Gbagbo trying to cause trouble, or there was a disagreement between the disparate groups, some with little formal military training, who are being integrated into the military.

It is not clear whether the two attacks are linked.

UN peacekeepers have been posted at key junctions.

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

Yopougon district suffered some of the heaviest fighting during the battle for control of Abidjan last year following the disputed elections.

Although Abidjan has been relatively peaceful recently, there have been outbreaks of unrest, especially in the west of the country, which correspondents say remains awash with guns.

Some 3,000 people were killed in a dispute after the November 2010 poll.

Mr Gbagbo refused to accept defeat to President Alassane Ouattara, who eventually ousted his rival with the help of former rebel forces, the UN and former colonial power France.

Mr Gbagbo is currently in The Hague, awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity.