Militants hold defense minister for hours in Ivory Coast

Abidjan, Jan 7 (EFE) .- Militants belonging to a faction of the Ivorian Army that rebelled in several cities to demand salary increases retained Defense Minister Alain Richard Donwahi in Bouaké in the center of the country , Sources told the government on Saturday.

Donwahi was released shortly after meeting with the insurgents to end the mutiny that spread to several cities in the country, including the economic capital Abidjan.

News of the hostage taking by the minister late this afternoon came shortly after President Alassane Ouattara announced his willingness to reach an agreement with the mutineers.

Donwahi was detained in the residence of the sub-prefect of Bouaké, where the meeting between the government delegation and the insurgent military happened.

"The minister, the journalists, a deputy, the mayor and all those who had come to accompany the negotiations between the minister and the mutineers were retained," one of the reporters told EFE that he was also taken hostage.

Hours earlier, President Ouattara himself had announced in a public statement made in Abidjan an agreement to meet the military's demands and end the riot.

The insurgents demand the payment of salary supplements that are entitled since the end of the civil war in 2011, increasing their wages and improving their living conditions.

Ouattara urged the insurgents to lay down their arms "to allow the calm execution of these measures".

However, the ex-combatants in Bouaké decided to take the minister as a hostage until he knew in detail how the measures announced by the president would be implemented, according to the same sources.