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The
authorities decreed a curfew on Wednesday night in response to
the killings in Dabou, which Mayor Jean-Claude Niangne said were
carried out by men armed with assault rifles and machetes.
Violence has broken out sporadically since August, when Ouattara
announced his candidacy for a third term, a move his opponents
say violates the constitution.
In all, more than 20 people have died in protests and clashes
between rival supporters.
The events have stoked fears about a bigger slide into violence.
A disputed election a decade ago led to a civil war that killed
3,000 people.
Niangne, a member of Ouattara's ruling party, said young men
affiliated with the president's opponents took control of parts
of Dabou earlier in the week, killing six people and wounding
40, before being pushed out on Wednesday by the police.
He said weapons belonging to a national lawmaker and former
mayor of the town, who is an ally of exiled opposition leader
Guillaume Soro, were used by the assailants.
The lawmaker, Ben Souk Sess, who is in exile in Mali, denied
this and blamed the violence on youth gangs working for Niangne.
Ouattara's two main challengers in the election, former
President Henri Konan Bedie and Pascal Affi N'Guessan, called on
their supporters last week to boycott the electoral process and
prevent it from going ahead.
They accuse the ruling party of manipulating the electoral
process to ensure Ouattara's victory. Ouattara denies this and
says he has the right to stand for re-election under a new
constitution approved in 2016.
(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Hugh
Lawson)
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