By Reuters

Abidjan - A gunbattle between rival groups of police erupted in Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan on Friday after a confrontation earlier in the day.

A small group of riot police fired in the air and set up a roadblock in the Williamsville suburb, angry after a colleague was killed by a paramilitary police officer, or gendarme. Shooting broke out when a group of gendarmes arrived shortly afterwards.

An army spokesperson confirmed to Reuters the death of the police officer, but said he did not know why it had happened.

The angry police officers, about a dozen in number, smashed market stalls as they marched through the streets before setting up the roadblock with an ambulance and a truck, near a post office.

'A small group of riot police fired in the air'

"They have guns, we also have guns," shouted one, as residents scurried for cover in houses and shops.

According to witnesses, Ivory Coast's security minister had visited the police in Williamsville to discuss the earlier killing, but had left the area before the shooting broke out.

Ivory Coast plunged into civil war last year after a failed rebel uprising. Despite a peace process, the world's top cocoa grower is still divided between a rebel-held north and government-held south.

Tensions are running high after a date for the disarmament of all security forces in the West African country was set by President Laurent Gbagbo on Thursday.

Published on the Web by IOL on 2003-12-05 15:09:02