Ivory Coast rebels a disciplined lot

The rebels don’t loot. The rebels pay for their food. They might even tip. And if they steal, they get shot dead on the spot. From the ...

The rebels don’t loot. The rebels pay for their food. They might even tip. And if they steal, they get shot dead on the spot.

From the start of their uprising a month ago, Ivory Coast’s insurgents have tried hard to project an image that sets them apart from the drugged up, brutal gangsters of wars in nearby Sierra Leone and Liberia.

	Radio station attacked
ABIDJAN: Armed men in uniform on Thursday night smashed up Ivory Coast’s Radio Nostalgie, one of West Africa’s biggest stations whose owner has links to the Opposition. The attackers struck on Thursday after the 9 pm curfew imposed because of a four-week-old conflict, sources said. (Reuters) Story continues below this ad

‘‘Those who are with us know the rules. Even if it’s just a needle they are taking from a shop, they must pay for it,’’ said rebel commander Cherif Ousmane. Those who thought otherwise have learnt the hard way.

At least four alleged thieves have been executed by the rebels over the past two weeks, one of them just a few metres away from a group of foreign reporters. He was accused of having stolen a fan.

A month after the rebels seized Bouake, 360 km north of the main city of Abidjan, some civilians at least have grown less afraid.

‘‘At the beginning, they would come to the market with their guns and people would run away. But now we are not scared,’’ said Aisha an onion seller at Bouake’s main market. ‘‘They say they are not against the population. They pay for their food. Sometimes they’ll tell you to keep the change.’’ (Reuters)