Two dead following Ivory Coast protests

Abidjan - Two people were killed yesterday when soldiers opened fire on anti-junta demonstrators in Ivory Coast's economic capital…

Abidjan - Two people were killed yesterday when soldiers opened fire on anti-junta demonstrators in Ivory Coast's economic capital, Abidjan. About 10 people were reported wounded in the residential Cocody district.

The opposition leader, Mr Laurent Gbagbo, and the military ruler, Gen Robert Guei, yesterday both laid claim to the presidency after elections on Sunday. The official results were not issued before the junta dissolved the national electoral commission after the interior minister said Gen Guei had won the poll. Mr Gbagbo urged his backers to take to the streets.

Soldiers yesterday stripped and beat female Gbagbo supporters as they took refuge after soldiers opened fire to disperse protests against the military junta. Gen Guei declared a state of emergency yesterday in Ivory Coast and imposed an overnight curfew.