ABIDJAN:
Eleven people, including seven soldiers, were killed on Wednesday in clashes with unidentified gunmen in a village in Ivory Coast near the border with Liberia, state radio said.
The West African nation has been attacked by unidentified armed men from Liberia on at least three previous occasions in the past two years, including one assault in January in which two soldiers were killed.
"The situation is under control," said Defence Minister Paul Koffi Koffi on state radio. "We have reinforced our position."
Four of the gunmen were killed in the clashes and five people were arrested after the attack, which began at 5:00 am (0500), state radio reported.
Witnesses had earlier put the death toll from the attack at three.
Ivory Coast emerged from a brief civil war in 2011 that capped a decade of political turmoil and has since seen rapid economic growth, becoming a darling for investors.
© Thomson Reuters 2015