BBC protests journalist's beating

The BBC has protested to the military government of Ivory Coast following an attack on a BBC reporter.

The journalist, Mohammed Fofanah Dara, was beaten by soldiers while covering an anti-government demonstration in Abidjan.

Soldiers used whips and tear-gas to break up a student protest.

Witnesses said some of the protestors were stripped naked by the military and forced to crawl along the road.

The demonstrators are believed to be supporters of the former prime minister, Alassane Ouattara, who could be barred from standing in the forthcoming presidential elections by a new constitution which requires all candidates to be born of Ivorian parents.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service