Ivory Coast: Govt pays mutineers to quit

Ivory Coast is to pay its soldiers 15m CFA francs ($25,500; £20,000) each to leave its large and mutiny-prone army, Reuters reports. The government is hoping to retire 4,400 troops – almost a fifth of its reported 25,000-strong army – by 2020, the agency said. A thousand of those will voluntarily retire by the end […]

Ivory Coast is to pay its soldiers 15m CFA francs ($25,500; £20,000) each to leave its large and mutiny-prone army, Reuters reports.

The government is hoping to retire 4,400 troops – almost a fifth of its reported 25,000-strong army – by 2020, the agency said.

A thousand of those will voluntarily retire by the end of the year.

However, officials would not confirm exactly what the payoff would be – but Reuters and a number of other outlets report it will be more than $25,000 per soldier.