Four people were killed in the central Ivory Coast town of Toumodi on Sunday when a house was set ablaze during election unrest sparked by President Alassane Ouattara’s run for a third term, residents said.
“During the clashes, several houses… were set on fire. Four people from the same family, a young couple, a woman and an elderly lady, died,” a relative said on Monday.
Another resident confirmed the four dead were being buried.
At least nine people in total have now died in unrest over the weekend, according to residents, security and medical sources. Clashes before Saturday’s vote claimed 30 lives.
Opposition leaders had called a boycott over what they said was Ouattara’s unconstitutional bid for a third term.
Electoral officials were tallying ballots on Monday, with preliminary results showing Ouattara with a strong lead.
The tensions have heightened fears that Ivory Coast could spiral into the kind of violence that left 3,000 people dead in a 2010-2011 crisis.
AFP
