Several Gunfired as Ivory Coast soldiers mutiny spreads to Abidjan

A mutiny by Ivory Coast soldiers over pay has spread to the commercial capital Abidjan, with soldiers taking over the country's army headquarters.

They fired in the air as they took control of the base in the city's Plateau district. The mutiny began on Friday in the central city of Bouake.

It then spread to a number of military camps around the country.

Defence Minister Alain-Richard Donwahi has gone to Bouake to discuss the protesters' demands.

An MP in the city said the soldiers wanted $8,000 and a house each.

The BBC's Alex Duval Smith in Ivory Coast says the mutiny brings back memories of Ivory Coast's 10-year civil war, which ended in 2011.

Breaking: DR Congo leader Jean-Pierre Bemba sentenced to 18 years in prison by ICC for war crimes and sexual violence

Former vice-president of Democratic Republic of Congo convicted for his part in a campaign of rape and murder in Central African Republic in 2002-3

Former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba

Former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for rape and pillage committed by his troops, becoming the highest level official to be handed down a sentence at the international criminal court.

Bemba, wearing a blue suit and tie, watched impassively from the dock during the hearing at The Hague on Tuesday.