Ivory Coast coup fears dismissed

General Guei: Took power in a military coup last year

By West Africa correspondent Mark Doyle in Abidjan

There has been a security alert in the Ivory Coast capital, Abidjan, with increased security around the national TV station.

It follows the circulation of a series of rumours in the city.

I want to reassure the population and say that at no point was there a threat to the people or their possessions, far less an attempted coup d'etat

Information Minister Captain Henri Sama

A member of the ruling military junta has sought to dismiss the unease by saying that there is no need for concern.

The information minister for the military regime, Captain Henri Sama, appeared on state-controlled TV and radio, saying there had been a false alert, and that the people of Ivory Coast had nothing to fear.

He said that the military government, which took power last Christmas, would guarantee the security of all citizens.

TV station

He appealed to staff of the television station, who had earlier been told to leave their posts, to return to work immediately.

Abidjan: A prosperous city known as the Paris of Africa

Some of the soldiers around the television station appeared nervous.

There have been no other significant signs of unrest, but some people have left the city centre for home because of the unease.

When the military junta in Ivory Coast seized power from an unpopular civilian government on Christmas Eve last year, it was condemned for its actions in the west, but broadly welcomed by local people.

The country is a huge producer of cocoa and coffee but also has one of Africa's heaviest debt burdens.