Reshuffle in Ivory Coast, security chiefs out after mutiny
ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast initiated a post- election reshuf f le on Monday and fired the heads of its armed forces and police after a brief army mutiny that stoked security fears in the world’s top cocoa producer.
President Alassane Ouattara issued a statement saying he had accepted the resignations of Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan and the cabinet, who would stay in office until their replacements were appointed.
The decision had been widely expected, coming on the heels of a legislative elections last month won by the governing coalition.
Separately, a presidential statement read on TV said Alassane Ouattara had signed three decrees ordering major changes in top security ranks.
The decrees “relieve General Soumaila Bakayoko as chief of staff of the armed forces of Ivory Coast, General Gervais Kouakou Kouassi, senior commander of the national gendarmerie, and the director-general of the police, Bredou M’Bia,” the statement said.
Their replacements were named as General Sekou Toure, General Nicolas Kouadio Kouakou and Youssouf Kouyate, respectively. There were no further details.
Ouattara also issued decrees ending the functions of the secretary-general of the president’s office and the minister in charge of presidential affairs, the post held by his right- hand man Amadou Gon Coulibaly and his younger brother Ibrahima Tene respectively.
The mutiny saw soldiers seize the second city of Bouake, firing shots in the air and terrifying residents, whi le demanding bonuses, better pay and houses. The protests spread to other cities, including the economic capital Abidjan.
A deal to end the mutiny was struck on Sunday. — AFP