Witnesses say the students were blocking traffic and smashing car windows Thursday to demand compensation from the government for missing a year of school because of the war.

The Reuters News agency quotes witnesses who say security forces opened fire on the crowd, shooting one student dead.

Similar student riots broke out in the city in July. Thursday's protest comes on the eve of the first anniversary of the failed coup that threw the country into crisis.

The United Nations mission in Ivory Coast has planned a series of memorial events for the anniversary over the next several days. Many people see the events as designed, in part, to help head off the possibility of violent demonstrations.

While the war was officially declared over in July, Ivory Coast remains divided between rebels in the north and the army in the south, with tensions running high.