Attack on Ivory Coast army base kills at least six

ABIDJAN (AFP) - An attack on an army base in Abidjan left at least six dead Monday, in the latest of a string of attacks targeting the military in the Ivory Coast economic capital.

Four bodies could be seen strewn on the blood-splattered floor of a building at the entrance of the Akeoudo military camp and two others at a sentry post and another gate, an AFP correspondent reported.

Small arms fire broke out at the military base in the northern Cocody district around 4:00 am (0400 GMT), continuing for around two hours, residents said.

Five soldiers were killed on Sunday when gunmen attacked a police station and an army post in Abidjan's Yopougon district.

Defence Minister Paul Koffi told AFP the attack was an apparent bid to free people who had been arrested the previous day.

Political tensions continue to spark violence in Ivory Coast despite the end of five months of fighting which followed the December 2010 elections, when ex-president Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede defeat at the ballot box to current leader Alassane Ouattara.

Ouattara's government has been trying to disarm and reintegrate fighters involved in both sides of the conflict into the Ivorian army to reduce the violence.

Gbagbo is currently facing charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.