Six killed in Ivory Coast attack: sources

ABIDJAN (AFP) - Six people were killed in an overnight attack on a village in Ivory Coast's restive south-west bordering Liberia, a military source said Wednesday.

"The attack staged at night in the village of Sakre claimed six lives," said the source, speaking from Guiglo, a town about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of the village. Other military and local sources confirmed the attack.

A local said two others were injured and several homes torched.

"Four attackers have been arrested," the military source said, adding that they were sympathisers of ousted strongman Laurent Gbagbo, currently in custody at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity.

The source said they were based in Liberia and aimed "to loot the villagers of their belongings," adding: "The situation is currently under control."

The claim could not be independently verified.

Gbagbo's refusal to cede power after 2010 polls sparked a bloodbath. According to the United Nations, some 3,000 people died in the violence -- 1,000 of them in the west, a region that is prone to ethnic tensions.

The region still faces security problems, and some 170,000 people remain displaced, the UN says.