Ivory Coast has closed
its border with Ghana after several people were killed in an attack on an army
checkpoint.
Ivorian Defence Minister
Paul Koffi Koffi said "armed elements from Ghana" carried out the
attack in the border town of Noe.
At least five attackers
died and others fled back over the border, he added.
Ivory Coast has blamed
previous attacks on its security forces on supporters of ex-President Laurent
Gbagbo, some of whom are in exile in Ghana.
The closure affects the
nearly 700km (450-mile) land, sea and air border with Ghana until further
notice, Mr Koffi Koffi said, reading a statement from President Alassane
Ouattara's office on public broadcaster RTI.
"Around 03:00
[Friday] the position of the [government forces] at the Noe border post was
attacked by armed elements from Ghana," he said.
"After a shoot-out
five assailants were killed and five arrested. The other assailants withdrew to
Ghanaian territory."
One soldier was slightly
injured, he added.
Hours earlier, at least
three people were killed when armed men attacked three police stations south of
the commercial capital Abidjan, officials said. It is not clear whether the two
incidents are linked.
President John Dramani
Mahama promised during a recent visit to Abidjan that Ghana would not become a
base for those trying to destabilise Ivory Coast.
Mr Koffi welcomed what
he called "frank co-operation" between officials in Ivory Coast and
Ghana.
In August, Ivorian
ministers blamed Gbagbo loyalists based in Ghana for attacks in Abidjan that
killed 10 soldiers.
Ivory Coast is
recovering from months of unrest after a disputed election.
Some 3,000 people died
in fighting that followed the November 2010 poll.
Mr Gbagbo refused to
accept defeat to President Ouattara, who eventually ousted his rival with the
help of former rebel forces, the UN and former colonial power France.
Mr Gbagbo is currently
in The Hague, awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court on charges of
crimes against humanity.
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