ABIDJAN, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Calm was restored on Wednesday in Cote d'Ivoire's army barracks, just a day after soldiers in towns such as Bouake, Korhogo, Daloa and Abidjan came out in protest to demand payment of their salary arrears.
The barricades that had been set up by angry soldiers were equally removed and traffic started flowing normally.
In towns such as Bouake and Abidjan, eyewitnesses saw soldiers who were singing victory songs. "We are satisfied. We have ended our protest," one of the soldiers was heard saying.
Cote d'Ivoire's authorities responded quickly to the protests by soldiers. Defense Minister Paul Koffi Koffi and his Interior counterpart Hamed Bakayoko rushed to the public television to reassure soldiers that their concerns were being addressed.
Koffi said the government would immediately start disbursing payment for salary arrears of the soldiers who served under Laurent Gbagbo's regime, as well as payment of the relocation allowance for other soldiers.
On his part, Bakayoko announced that the soldiers' demands on payment of salary arrears would get a positive response from the government.
